Biography

Dr. Ellison directs the Honors and Liberal Education Programs at Bemidji State University and she is the President of the Upper Midwest Honors Conference. Her research explores the intersections between daily life performance, theatre performance, tourism, and “wild west” mythology. At BSU, Dr. Ellison teaches Human Culture and Ideas, Acting & Performance Studies, Introduction to Honors, The American West, Honors Seminar, and the Honors Capstone series.

Dr. Ellison is a practicing artist and creative scholar. She produces and stage-directs new plays, both on campus and across the nation. Most recently she directed, “Now Maybe Sunbeam,” which premiered digitally at the Edinburg Festival Fringe in the U.K. in August 2020. Each spring, she produces the Voices of the Earth New Play Festival, a burgeoning national playwriting festival held on BSU campus.

She spends most of her free time caring for her animal menagerie—three horses, a mini-donkey, three dogs, seven barn-cats, eight chickens, and six finches. Horse-camping and trail-riding are among her favorite ways to relax.

Degrees

Ph.D. in Theatre, Bowling Green State University, Ohio; 2009

M.A. in Theatre Arts, Texas State University—San Marcos, Texas; 2005

B.A. in Theatre Arts, Henderson State University, Arkansas; 2003

Teaching

• Interdisciplinary and Performance Studies
• Critical Animal Studies
• Cultural Studies of the American West
• Gender and Women’s Studies (esp. representations)
• Undergraduate and Honors Research, Writing, and Composition
• Qualitative Inquiry, Interviewing, and Research Methods
• Theatre and Performance History, Historiography, Script Analysis, and Theory
• Theatre Directing, Devising, and New Play Development

Open Field

Professional Affiliations

• Member, Assoc. for the Assessment of Learning in Higher Education
• Member, Association for Interdisciplinary Studies
• Jane Chambers Assistant, Association for Theatre in Higher Education
• Member at Large, Mid-America Theatre Conference
• Honors Semesters Committee, National Collegiate Honors Council
• Member, Upper Midwest Regional Honors Council
• Member, Western History Association