Biography

Karen M. Dabney (she/her) serves as the Artistic Director and Program Director of UVA Acts, a program out of the Provost’s Office that utilizes interactive theatre to facilitate dialogue around difficult topics. With a Ph.D. in Theatre at the University of Colorado–Boulder, an MFA in Directing at the New School for Drama in New York City, and a B.A. in Women’s Studies with a minor in American Racial and Multicultural Studies at St. Olaf College in Minnesota, she previously taught as a full-time Assistant Professor at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Westminster College, and Midwestern State University.

Karen has always been committed to creating and participating in diversity and inclusivity programming as well as conducting research on intersectionality, approaching it all as Applied Theater (also known as Community-Based Theater). Since her time at CU-Boulder, she has directed, performed, and facilitated numerous workshops that deal with issues of identity, power, and privilege.

Ms. Dabney has also written and presented on the role of theater produced by and for the U.S. Army community in the last fifty years, highlighting the community-based theater methods employed in this particular enclave of American culture. Her other research interests include pedagogy, improvisation, and new work development.  For the Mid-America Theatre Conference, she recently co-chaired the Anti-Racism Committee as well as the Pedagogy and Practice/Production Symposia and currently serves as Internal Communications Officer and a voting member of the Anti-Racism Committee.