Courtney Elkin Mohler, Ph.D. - Webpages at SCU - Santa Clara ...

Courtney Elkin Mohler, Ph.D.
Curriculum Vitae
Home Address:
University Address:
713 Harding Avenue 500 El Camino Real
San Jose, CA 95126
Dept. of Theatre and Dance
T: (310) 528-4501 Santa Clara University
E: cmohler@scu.edu Santa Clara, CA 95053
Education:
Ph.D. 2007
University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Theater
Specialties:
American Theatre & Theatre History
Performance Studies
Native American & Chicana/o Studies
Critical Race Theory
B. A. 2002 University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Theater
Specialties:
Acting
Critical Studies
Ph.D. Dissertation:
Clashes of Cultural Memory in Popular Festival Performance in
Southern California: 1910s-Present
Academic Positions:
2012-Present Assistant Professor Santa Clara University
2010-2012 Postdoctoral Fellow Santa Clara University
2008-2010 Adjunct Professor California State University, Dominguez Hills
Visiting Faculty California State University, Northridge
2007-2008 Adjunct Professor Dominican University of California
Publications:
“‘A Little History Here, a Little Hollywood There’: (Counter)identifying with the
Spanish Fantasy in Carlos Morton’s Rancho Hollywood and Theresa Chavez’ L.A.
Real,” Modern Drama (June 2014).
“American Indian Theater and Performance,” The Greenwood Encyclopedia of
American Indian Issues Today, Ed. Russell M. Lawson, Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-
Clio Inc, March 2013.
“How to Turn ‘a bunch of gang-bangin’ criminals into big kids having fun’:
Empowering Incarcerated Youth through Narrative-Based Ensemble Theater,”
Theatre Topics, vol. 22, no. 1, March 2012.
“Nostalgia, Irony and the Re-Emergence of the Reified American Indian Other in August:
Osage County” Text & Presentation, 2010: The Comparative Drama Conference
Series, 7. ed. Kiki Gounaridou. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2010: 130-142.

“Little (White) Women: The Role of Whiteness in Split Britches’ ‘Little Women,
the Tragedy” Platform, vol. 4, no. 1, special edition on “Staging Genders,” Spring
2009.
“‘We Are Not Guilty’: The Creation of an Indigenous Theatrical Praxis” in
American Indian Performing Arts: Critical Directions. Los Angeles, CA: Regents of
the University of California, 2009.
Publications (under review):
“Harnessing Indigenous Ways of Knowing in the Native Studies Undergraduate
Classroom,” chapter accepted to Transforming Our Practices: American Indian Art,
Pedagogies, and Philosophies, Eds. Christine Ballengee Morris and Kryssi Staikidis,
book prospectus currently under review with the National Art Education Association.
Book & Performance Reviews:
Review of “Romeo and Juliet,” dir. Laird Williamson, for Latin American Theatre
Review, vol. 46, no. 1, Fall 2012: 207-210.
Review of Native American Drama: A Critical Perspective by Christy Stanlake and
Native American Performance and Representation by S.E. Wilmer, ed.,
for Theatre Research International Theatre Research International, vol. 35.3: 302-303.
Conference Panel Presentations (selected):
“Lynn Riggs’ Native American Plays & the Double-Edged Sword of ‘Race’
Specific Casting,” Association of Theatre in Higher Education Conference, Orlando,
FL: August 2, 2013.
“Lynn Riggs’ Native American Plays & the Double-Edged Sword of ‘Race’
Specific Casting,” American Literature Association Conference, San Francisco, CA:
May 26, 2012.
“American Indian Theatre & Performance: Problematics & Potentialities,” panel
creator and participant for the American Literature Association Conference, San
Francisco, CA: May 26, 2012.
“Negotiating Native Identity and Empowerment through American Indian
Performance,” panel creator and chair for the American Literature Association
Conference, San Francisco, CA: May 26, 2012.
“Assessing Plural Identities: The Resurgence of Aztec Dance in the Bay Area,”
research presented in collaboration with student researchers Marcel Garza and
Gustavo Magana. Diversity Leadership Conference: Deconstructing Diversity in the
Bay Area, Santa Clara University, April 30, 2011.
“Strategies for Success: Interdisciplinary Discussion on Studying Diversity and
Social Justice in Graduate Education,” interactive workshop lead with Dr. Anthony
Hazard, Dr. Erin Kimura-Walsh, Dr. Rita Kohli, and Dr. Jamie Walker. Diversity
Leadership Conference: Deconstructing Diversity in the Bay Area, Santa Clara
University, April 30, 2011.
“Lynn Riggs Native American Plays & the Double-Edged Sword of ‘Race’ Specific
Casting,” Comparative Drama Conference, Loyola Marymount University, Los
Angeles, CA: March 26, 2011.

“Panel on Native American Theatre: with a Special Focus on the Work of Lynn
Riggs (Cherokee),” panel creator for the Comparative Drama Conference, Loyola
Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA: March 26, 2011.
“Native Arts Toward Decolonization: A Comparative Examination of Quick-to-See
Smith’s ‘Paper Dolls’ and Geiogamah’s Foghorn,” American Literature Association
Conference, San Francisco, CA: May 29, 2010.
“Winning Pulitzers and Sidekicking Indians: the Re-Emergence of the Reified
American Indian Other in August Osage County” Comparative Drama Conference,
Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA: March 26, 2010.
“Theorizing Aesthetics, Ceremony & Community in Native American Theater,”
panel creator and respondent for the Comparative Drama Conference,
Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA: March 27, 2010.
“Negotiating Representation: Staging Native American Identities,” panel creator and
participant for the Comparative Drama Conference, Loyola Marymount University,
Los Angeles, CA: March 25-37, 2010.
“Festival, Nostalgia & the Making of Regional Identity in Santa Barbara, California’s
‘Old Spanish Days Fiesta’” American Society for Theatre Research Conference, San
Juan, Puerto Rico. Nov. 15, 2009.
“Latino Youth and Theatre: Critical Directions For a New Future,” panel creator.
Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference, New York. Aug 9, 2009.
“How to Turn ‘a bunch of gang-bangin’ criminals into big kids’: Empowering
Incarcerated Youth through Narrative-Based Ensemble Theater,” Association for
Theatre in Higher Research Conference, New York, NY. Aug. 9, 2009.
“Workshop for Native American Playwriting,” new plays selection panel & playwriting
mentor/dramaturge. Two Worlds Festival, Albuquerque, NM. North Fourth Arts Center,
Aug. 19-23, 2008.
“Borders Down My Spine: Memory, Mythology and Epistemic Identity in
Teresa Chavez’s ‘L.A. Real.’” Comparative Drama Conference, Los Angeles, CA.
Mar. 27, 2008.
Chair of panels: “Circulation, Transmission, and Transformation in Latino/a
American Performance” and “Geographies of Identity in Latino/a Theater.”
Comparative Drama Conference, Mar. 27-8, 2008.
“Public Performance and Memory as Home: The Creation of Homeplace
through Performance of the Past in Santa Barbara’s ‘Old Spanish Days
Fiesta.’” American Society for Theatre Research Conference, Phoenix, AZ.
Nov. 18, 2007.
“Interactive Workshop: Planning and Funding a California Native Studies
Program.” California Indian Conference and Gathering: Building Community,
Davis, CA. Oct. 27, 2007.
Conference Co-Host and Project HOOP Project Manager; “Project HOOP,
National Gathering 2006: The Second Half,” University of California, Los
Angeles, Jun. 19-22, 2006.
“Dividing the Present by Performing the Past: Surrogation and Nostalgia in Santa
Barbara’s ‘Old Spanish Days.’” Association for Theatre in Higher Education

Conference, Chicago, IL. Aug. 4, 2006.
“Native Arts Towards Decolonization: An Examination of Hanay Geiogamah’s
‘Foghorn.’” The Southwest Texas Popular Culture and American Cultures
Association Conference, Albuquerque, NM. Feb. 10, 2005.
Teaching, Research & Administrative Positions:
2013-2014 Instructor, Theatre History III
College of Arts and Sciences
Santa Clara University
Directed Reading for Senior Capstone Projects in Ethnic Studies
(Students: McKenzie Darr & Drew Kemp)
College of Arts and Sciences
Santa Clara University
2012-2013 Instructor, Wake Up with Shakespeare
Summer Seminar at OSF Campus
Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Instructor, Theatre History III
College of Arts and Sciences
Santa Clara University
Instructor, (De)Colonial Narratives (Cultures & Ideas 1 & 2)
College of Arts and Sciences
Santa Clara University
Instructor, Introduction to Native American Studies
College of Arts and Sciences
Santa Clara University
Instructor, All the World’s a Stage (Cultures & Ideas 1)
College of Arts and Sciences
Santa Clara University
2011-2012 Instructor, Drama of Diversity
College of Arts and Sciences
Santa Clara University
2010-2011 Instructor, Theatre History III
College of Arts and Sciences
Santa Clara University
Instructor, Introduction to Native American Studies
College of Arts and Sciences
Santa Clara University
2009-2010 Instructor, Scene Study: Summer Theater Intensive
School of Theater, Film & Television
University of California, Los Angeles
Program Coordinator & Scholar Mentor, ArtsBridge Scholars Program
School of Theater, Film and Television
University of California, Los Angeles
Instructor, History of Musical Theatre in the United States

College of Arts and Humanities
California State University, Northridge
Instructor, Native American & Chicana Women’s Narratives
College of Arts and Humanities
California State University, Dominguez Hills
Instructor, Fundamentals of Speech
College of Arts and Humanities
California State University, Dominguez Hills
2008-2009 Program Coordinator & Scholar Mentor, ArtsBridge Scholars Program
School of Theater, Film and Television
University of California, Los Angeles
Teaching Artist, The Unusual Suspects Theater Company
(Script development, acting techniques, & direction for original
productions by at-risk youth)
Instructor, Fundamentals of Speech
College of Arts and Humanities
California State University, Dominguez Hills
Instructor, Special Topics: Chicana/o Performance Studies
College of Arts and Humanities
California State University, Dominguez Hills
Instructor, Native American & Chicana Women’s Narratives
College of Arts and Humanities
California State University, Dominguez Hills
Instructor, Key Issues: Visions of Los Angeles
College of Arts and Humanities
California State University, Dominguez Hills
Instructor, Key Concepts: Modern Culture & the Arts
College of Arts and Humanities
California State University, Dominguez Hills
2007 - 2008 Instructor, Acting: Summer Theater Intensive
School of Theater, Film & Television
University of California, Los Angeles
Instructor, Human Cultures: Race & Place in the U.S.A.
Dominican University of California, San Rafael
Instructor, Film & The American Superhero
Dominican University of California, San Rafael
Instructor, Human Cultures: Introduction to Native American Culture
Dominican University of California, San Rafael
2005 - 2006 Research Assistant, Professor Hanay Geiogamah,
Director of American Indian Studies Center
University of California, Los Angeles
Project Manager and Conference Co-Host, Project HOOP (Honoring Our
Origins and Our People through Native American Theatre)

University of California, Los Angeles
2004 - 2005 Instructor, Race and the American Drama
Honors English Composition III course
College of Letters and Science
University of California, Los Angeles
Teaching Fellow, Inside the Performing Arts
College of Letters and Science
University of California, Los Angeles
2003 - 2004 Teaching Assistant, American Theater History
The School of Theater, Film and Television, Department of Theater
University of California, Los Angeles
Teaching Assistant, Drama of Diversity
The School of Theater, Film and Television, Department of Theater
University of California, Los Angeles
Awards and Fellowships:
Diversity Grant from the Office for Diversity and Inclusion for $5,000 for the creation
and implementation of the “Power, Culture, & Difference” Speaker Series & Writing
Group, 2014-2015, Santa Clara University
Faculty-Development Grant to support interdisciplinary research as member of the
Critical Race Theory Reading Group, Santa Clara University
Institute of American Cultures Pre-Doctoral Fellowship in American Indian Studies,
2006-2007, University of California, Los Angeles.
Cota Robles Graduate Diversity Fellowship, 2002 - 2006, awarded by the Graduate
Division, University of California, Los Angeles.
ArtsBridge Scholarship Program, 2001- 2002, awarded annual support for excellence in
teaching creative dramatics in under-funded elementary and high school classes.
Production Experience (selected):
Play Position Company
Goodness Director Santa Clara University
Can’t Thread a Moving Needle Director & Producer
Santa Clara University
Burning Vision Director Santa Clara University
The Exoneration of Francisco Director The Northern California
“Franky” Carrillo (Staged
Project Innocence Justice for
Reading)
All Dinner & Fundraiser
Harassment Dance (Staged Director Santa Clara University
Reading)
Macbeth Dramaturg Santa Clara University
A Night of Bemusement Director/Producer UCLA Performing Arts
(ensemble-workshop based
Summer Intensive

original script)
Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter Director California State University,
Dominguez Hills
Miss Julie Sheh’Mah (Staged Director Native Voices at Stone Soup
Reading)
Theatre
The Last Judgment Director Alliance Repertory Company
Laundry & Lies Director Alliance Repertory Company
Carbon Black Production Assistant Native Voices at the Autry
Freedom, Love & Forgiveness Teaching Artist
The Unusual Suspects Theatre
Company
The Abandoned Hotel Teaching Artist The Unusual Suspects Theatre
Company
Sunshine (ensemble-workshop Director/Producer
based original script)
UCLA Performing Arts
Summer Intensive
Fancy Dancer Dramaturg Two Worlds Festival, North
Fourth Arts Center
The Freeway Strangler Dramaturg The Company of Angels
Dancing at Lughnasa Director The Bay Ensemble
Spring Storm Co-Director UCLA Underground
Much Ado About Nothing Assistant Director Marin Theater Company Youth
Program
Professional Memberships:
American Society for Theatre Research
Association for Theatre in Higher Education
Focus Groups: Latino Focus Group, American Theatre and Drama Society Focus
Group, Theatre for Young Audiences
Professional References:
Professor Barbara Means Fraser, Dept. of Theatre and Dance, Santa Clara University
E: bfraser@scu.edu
T: (408) 554- 4455
Professor Hanay Geiogamah, Dept. of Theater, Film and Television, UCLA
E: hgeiog@ucla.edu
T: (310) 206-1536

Professor Patricia Harter, Dept. of Theater, Film and Television, UCLA
E: patharter@yahoo.com
T: (310) 206-7217
Associate Professor Christy Stanlake, Dept. of English, US Naval Academy, Annapolis
E: stanlake@usna.edu
T: (410) 293-6217