Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr. is an Associate Professor of Theatre Arts with areas of expertise in Japanese theatre, African theatre, Shakespeare, Greek tragedy, stage combat and comedy. He has degrees from Bates College, the University of Leeds and the University of Pittsburgh, where he completed his doctorate in Theatre and Performance Studies.
He is the author of Athenian Sun in an African Sky: Modern African Adaptation of Classical Greek Tragedy (McFarland, 2001), Black Dionysus: Greek Tragedy and African American Theatre (McFarland, 2003), The Empire Triumphant: Race, Religion, and Rebellion in the Star Wars Films (McFarland, 2005), and Shakespeare and Youth Culture (Palgrave 2006) as well as the co-editor of Modern Japanese Theatre and Performance (Lexington, 2006) and Suzan-Lori Parks: A Casebook (Routledge 2007) and editor of Revenge: East and West (Palgrave, 2008) and Portrayals of Americans on the World Stage (McFarland, 2009). He is also the author ofnumerous articles on theatre, cinema, Japanese culture, popular culture, and performance.
In addition to his scholarly work, Dr.Wetmore is an actor, director, stage combat choreographer, and comedian. His work has been seen on the stages of Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, New York, New Haven, New England, old England and South Africa with many award-winning productions to his credit. He has also appeared in several films and television programs. He was the Founding Artistic Director of the Unseam'd Shakespeare Company.
He is currently the Secretary/Treasurer of the Association for Asian Performance, the Conference Director of the Comparative Drama Conference, which LMU will host 2006-2012, and a member of many professional organizations, including the American Society for Theatre Research, the Association forTheatre in Higher Education, the Association for Asian Studies, the International House of Japan, and the Society of American Fight Directors. He is also an associate instructor with Dueling Arts International and LMU’s resident Stage Combat Choreographer.
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