Bruce McConachie Wins ASTR Distinguished Scholar Award

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

“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.

Bruce McConachie has chairEd Pitt's Department of Theatre Arts since 2006. He is a specialist
in American theatre history and theatre historiography. Professor McConachie has served the
academic field of theatre studies on several boards of directors and as the Presidents of the
American Theatre and Drama Society and the American Society for Theatre Research. His
latest book, Theatre and Mind, will be published later this year.

The University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Theatre Arts (founded in 1982) offers BA, MA, MFA
and PhD degrees in Theatre Arts. All faculty members are active in teaching, research, and artistic
projects. The department holds a philosophy of theatre education, the chief feature of which is the firm conviction that theory and practice, academic and creative work, and educational and professional theatre must be integrated for a successful program of theatre education. The University of Pittsburgh Repertory Theatre is the department’s flagship theatre company with performance spaces in the landmark Stephen Foster Memorial and the Cathedral of Learning. For more information about the University of Pittsburgh Repertory Theatre, please visit www.play.pitt.edu.

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