Chair of Department Wins Prestigious Award

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Bruce McConachie, chair of the University of Pittsburgh Department of Theatre Arts, won the prestigious American Society for Theatre Research Distinguished Scholar Award.  Professor McConachie received the award during the annual ASTR conference held in Montreal this November. 

“I have many people to thank for helping me reach this point,” McConachie said.  “From inquiring undergraduate students whose questions pulled me back to earth when my theoretical explanations flew too high, to my colleagues, co-editors, and fellow artists who allowed me to play in their sandboxes as an actor, director, and academic, to my wife, Stephanie, who has sustained me in many more ways than I have time to recall.”

The American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR) is a U.S.-based professional organization that fosters scholarship on worldwide theatre and performance, both historical and contemporary.  ASTR was founded in 1956 to encourage theatre scholarship and to provide a link with other similar groups represented in the International Federation for Theatre Research. 

The Distinguished Scholar Award is given each year to a single outstanding scholar whose body of work has made a significant contribution to the field of theatre, dance, opera, and/or performance studies.  Harry Elam, Tracy Davis, and Marvin Carlson are just a few of the illustrious recipients.