CURRICULUM VITAE
September 1, 2019
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Dramatic Art/Performance Studies with a
graduate minor in Critical Theory, University of California, Davis, 2009
·
Dissertation:
Staging the Social and Cruising the Crisis: A genealogy of utopian aspiration
in U.S. queer theater from the 1960s to the present. The dissertation focuses on the relationship
between crisis and utopia in U.S. “queer theater”, and examines the
implementation of queer genealogies in dramatic literature as a utopian
political gesture used by playwrights to affirm identities and build
communities
·
Qualifying
examinations in three areas: 20th/21st Century U.S. Drama; Critical Theories of
the Body, Representation, Politics and Exchange; and Queer Theater/Queer Theory
·
Other areas of
interest and expertise: Ancient Greek Drama, 17th-19th Century European Drama,
20th/21st Century American and European Literature, Chicano/Latino Theater,
Commedia dell’Arte, Ethnic Studies, Film & Media Studies, Gender &
Sexuality Studies, Frankfurt School Critical Theory, Improvisation,
Medieval/Renaissance/Elizabethan Drama, Modern Drama, Multicultural Theater,
Performance Studies, Solo Performance, Theater for Social Change
·
Maintained a 3.98
GPA while in the doctoral program
Graduate Certificate, Acting & Theater Studies,
University of California, Santa Cruz, 2003
·
Completed a
one-year graduate program. Performed as an actor, teaching assistant,
playwright, and scholar
·
Studied method
acting & Stella Adler technique with Marcia Taylor; acting, commedia
dell’arte & Chicano/Latino theater with Alma Martinez; clowning with Patty
Gallagher; Indonesian dance-drama with Kathleen Foley; and performance theory
with Mark Franko and Peter Mostkoff
·
Maintained a 4.0
GPA while in the program
STC Certificate, Acting, American Conservatory
Theater, San Francisco, California, 2000
·
Completed an
intensive summer training program for actors, as well as numerous Studio A.C.T.
professional acting courses. Studied method acting, Stella Adler technique, and
Chekov with company member Gregory Wallace, as well as Shakespeare, commedia
dell'arte, clowning, physical acting, dance, stage combat, imaginal movement,
Alexander technique, improvisation, and Linklater and Middendorf vocal
techniques
B.A., Art, Reed College, Portland, Oregon, 1992
·
Four years of
comprehensive liberal arts education
·
Majored in art,
with extensive course work in anthropology, art history, dance, humanities, modern
literature, painting, philosophy, religious studies, and sculpture
·
Senior Thesis:
integrated a series of original paintings with an analysis of political and
aesthetic issues in contemporary art
Université de Rennes, France, exchange student,
1989-1990
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Lecturer of Acting & Theatre Arts, University of
Miami, Florida Spring 2013 to
present
Currently working as
a full-time lecturer teaching four (or five) undergraduate courses per
semester. Per-semester enrollment averages 70-120 students. Courses taught
include: Theater History I: Ancient
Greece through the British Restoration, Theater History II: 18th Century to the
Present, Introduction to Acting, Intermediate Acting, Introduction to Theater,
Queer Theater: Body Politics/Staging Sexuality, and Theatre Arts Senior Capstone. Teaching load has included
upper-division theater history classes for BA/BFA theater majors, advanced
project supervision for BA theater majors, as well as general education classes
for cognate students and other non-majors
Directed three
productions for the UM Theatre Arts department’s prestigious,
highly-competitive BFA performance program: Burn
This (Spring 2015); Talley’s Folly
(Spring 2018); The Dining Room (Fall
2018)
Adjunct Lecturer of Theatre History, University of
Miami, Florida Fall
2012
Taught Theater History I, a survey of the
development of Western theatre in Europe, from Ancient Greece through the
British Restoration. The course considers plays as works of dramatic literature
that manifest the social purpose of theatre, represent collective,
authoritarian, and/or revolutionary ideas, and stage sociopolitical conflicts
within their particular cultural-historical contexts. The course examines the
various social, political, religious, cultural and aesthetic functions of
ritual and theatre, the history of the stage, the evolution of stagecraft, the
development of performance conventions, and acting techniques
Adjunct Lecturer of Theatre, Pomona College,
Claremont, CA 2008 to 2010
·
Courses taught
included four sections of Basic Acting:
Meisner’s Improvised Realism and one section of Intermediate Acting
·
Syllabi included
required readings of dramatic literature and performance theory, weekly individual
and/or group performance assignments, required viewing of live theatrical
performances, and short analytical writing assignments
·
Organized two
field trips per semester and scheduled workshops with visiting artists,
depending on budget
·
Required that
every student attend two coaching appointments per semester for scene and
monologue work
·
Collaborated with
senior faculty to organize joint final showcases of student work
·
Served for three
years as Artistic Director and Producer for the Claremont Colleges 10-Minute Play Festival. This juried playwriting contest was open to
all members of the Claremont Colleges community including students, faculty,
staff, and alumni. The festival was
produced in collaboration with the Pomona College Department of Theatre and
Dance and the Dean’s Office of Student Life, during Pomona’s “Parents &
Family Weekend.” The festival was
specifically designed and curated with the intent of showcasing the diversity
of creative voices at the Claremont Colleges
·
Volunteered as an
actor in two Claremont Colleges theater productions: Shakespeare’s Richard II (role: John of Gaunt,
directed by Professor Leonard Pronko) and Luis Valdez’ Zoot Suit (roles: Lt. Edwards, Bailiff, and Swabbie, 35th
Anniversary production, directed by former El Teatro Campesino company member,
Dr. Alma Martinez)
·
Delivered an open
lecture on LGBTQ Theater that was sponsored by the Women’s Center and the
Dean’s Office
·
Volunteered as
orientation trip participating faculty and introductory seminar critical
inquiry faculty for two years for incoming first-year students during
orientation week
·
Advised students
during office hours and wrote recommendations for graduate school,
scholarships, or study abroad
·
Regularly
attended and thoughtfully contributed to departmental, divisional, and general
faculty meetings
Visiting Assistant Professor of Acting and Dramatic
Literature, Pomona College, Claremont, CA 2007
to 2008
·
Worked full-time
for one year. Courses taught included an
upper-division dramatic literature/women’s studies seminar as well as classes
in theater practice:
o
Queer Theater: Body Politics/Staging Sexuality –
Utopian Dreams, Dark Divas, and Drama Queens
o
Basic Acting: Meisner’s Improvised Realism
o
Playwriting: Creating Solo Work for the Stage
·
Directed an
acclaimed sold-out production of Lanford Wilson’s ensemble piece Fifth of July, in a thrust space
Critical Inquiry Faculty, Pomona Academy for Youth
Success, Pomona College, Claremont, CA Summer
2008, 2009, 2010
·
Worked in an
intensive summer college preparatory program for gifted minority high school
senior students
·
Curriculum
devised in collaboration with an interdisciplinary committee of faculty
colleagues
·
Readings drawn
from 20th-century cultural history, African American studies, anthropology, art
history, Asian American studies, Chicano/Latino studies, comparative
literature, cultural studies, ethnic studies, film & media studies, gender
studies, history, performance studies, queer studies, philosophy, psychology,
and sociology.
·
Course themes:
Gender and Society (‘08); Race/Environment/Economy (‘09); Education in
Contemporary U.S. Society (‘10)
·
Playwriting
Teacher & Director
Claremont School of Theatre Art, Pomona College,
Claremont, CA Summer 2009
Worked as a teacher
and director for a summer program for middle school students. Taught two classes in playwriting per day,
and directed two short plays which were performed for a “sold-out” public
audience at Pomona’s Virginia Princehouse Allen Theater
Acting Instructor: Meisner Technique and Long-form
Improvisation, Alexander Hughes Community Center, Claremont, CA 2008 to 2009
Contract instructor
for the community programs department of the Town of Claremont. Taught diverse groups of adult students,
teenagers to senior citizens. Ongoing
classes ran in six-week sessions
Teaching Assistant University
of California, Davis 2006 to 2007
Graded essays and
helped facilitate discussion in lecture settings with up to 100 students, led
two-hour critical discussion sections of 20 students each, prepared quizzes and
devised in-class writing assignments, oversaw and directed group projects
·
Professor Julia
Simon’s Humanities 1: A Cultural History
of the Blues course, Spring 2007
·
Associate
Professor Jon Rossini’s Aesthetic
Movements in Modern Performance upper-division course, Winter 2007
o
Delivered a
lecture on the American “Radical Theater Movement”, with a particular emphasis
on the collaborative work of The Living Theater in the 1960s
·
Professor Naomi
Janowitz’s Introduction to Comparative
Religion course, Fall 2006
·
Associate
Professor Larry Bogad’s Drama 1:
Performance and Culture course, Fall 2006
·
Delivered a
lecture on American naturalistic acting, with a particular focus on the
reception of Stanislavski’s “Method” and its subsequent elaborations by Stella
Adler, Sanford Meisner, and Lee Strasberg
·
Professor Neil
Larsen’s The Rise and Fall of
Countercultures Humanities/Comparative Literature course, Summer 2006
o
Delivered a
lecture on the history of the LGBT civil rights movement in postmodern America
Teaching Assistant University
of California, Santa Cruz 2002 to 2004
Graded essays and
helped facilitate discussion in lecture settings with 80-100 students, led
two-hour studio sections of 20 students, led “vocal and movement warm-ups” in
Intro Acting classes for groups of 80 students, coached monologues and directed
scenes, taught theater games and improvisation exercises, prepared quizzes and
devised in-class writing assignments, oversaw group projects, evaluated
performances, maintained records of student work, and wrote detailed final
evaluations for university student transcripts
·
Associate
Professor Patty Gallagher's Introductory
Acting course, Fall 2002, Winter 2003, Winter 2004
·
Doug Holsclaw's Queer Theater course, Spring 2003,
Spring 2004
·
Doug Holsclaw's Stand-Up Comedy course, Fall 2003
·
Professor Danny
Scheie’s Theater, Drama, and the Pixar
Feature course, Reader, Spring 2006
Assistant Art Teacher Board
of Education, P.S. 154: The Bronx, NY 1993
to 1995
·
Worked in a
Studio-in-a-School program that focused on a process-oriented approach. The program stressed group interaction and
cooperation skills among elementary school students, as well as the development
of individual perspective
·
Assistant-taught
four art classes of approximately 25 students each per diem and performed as a
per diem substitute teacher
·
Certified by
state examination as a substitute teacher in the area of “Teaching Reading to
Elementary School Students”
·
Attended
workshops in “conflict resolution” and “assertive discipline” taught by teacher
trainers
PUBLISHED ARTICLES
Blaney, Darren
Patrick. “Queering ethnicity and shattering the disco: Is there an enduring gay
ethnic dance?” The Oxford Handbook of Dance and Ethnicity, edited by Shay,
Anthony, and Sellers-Young, Barbara. Oxford University Press, 2016, pp. 91-112.
Print. Oxford Handbooks.
Blaney, Darren.
“1964: The Birth of Gay Theater.” The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide, vol.
21, no. 1, 2014, pp. 17–21.
Blaney, Darren.
“Queering the Domestic and Domesticating the Queer: Utopian Genealogies in
Lanford Wilson’s Fifth of July.” New England Theatre Journal, vol. 22., 2011,
pp. 125-146.
Blaney, Darren. “The
AIDS Show Broke the Silence.” The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide, vol. 18,
no. 2, 2011, pp. 13–16.
BOOK/PERFORMANCE REVIEWS
Blaney, Darren. “How
to Do Agitprop. Staging Social Justice: Collaborating to Create Activist
Theatre (Review).” The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide, vol. 20, no. 6,
2013, p. 43-44.
Blaney, Darren
Patrick. “Queer Theatre and the Legacy of Cal Yeomans by Robert A. Schanke
(Review).” Modern Drama, vol. 56, no. 4, 2013, pp. 569–571.
Blaney, Darren
Patrick. “Lay of the Land (Review).” Theatre Journal, vol. 64, no. 4, 2012, pp.
598–601.
ACADEMIC CONFERENCE PAPERS/PRESENTATIONS
·
2018, Missouri
Self-Taught: Lanford Wilson and the American Drama, University of Missouri
o
Participant in
the Lanford Wilson and the Queerness, Subversion, and Silence panel
o
Paper: Necessary
Distractions as Integral Tactics: Staging Ensemble and Queer Visibility in
Lanford Wilson’s Balm in Gilead
·
2015: ATHE:
Association for Theater in Higher Education, Montreal
o
Participant in
the From Triage to Marriage: Teaching GLBTQ Theatre and Film History panel
·
2011: Comparative
Drama Conference, Los Angeles
o
Participant in
the Queer(ing) Memory panel
o
Paper:
Constructing Community at the Caffe Cino through a Utopian Staging of Self:
Robert Patrick’s The Haunted Host
·
2010: ATHE:
Association for Theater in Higher Education, Los Angeles
o
Participant in
the Theory and Criticism panel entitled: Night
of the Living Dead!: Performing Survival/Surviving Performance
o
Paper: Theatrical
gifts as negotiations of exchange that enable survival: Theatre Rhinoceros’
utopian confrontations with the AIDS crisis
·
2010: ATHE:
Association for Theater in Higher Education, Los Angeles
o
Organizer/Moderator
of an LGBT Focus Group panel entitled: Surviving
Queerly, Why theater needs YOU more than YouTube: Advice from practitioners about the necessity
of theater in a well-balanced queer survival diet
o
Panelists
included: Joan Lipkin, Tim Miller, Randy Paulos, Cynthia Ruffin, Steven Ruiz,
Robert Schanke, and Denise Uyehara
·
2010: ATHE:
Association for Theater in Higher Education, Los Angeles
o
Organizer/Moderator
of an LGBT Focus Group panel entitled: Caffe Cino: The Cradle of Gay Theater:
An interview with Robert Patrick
·
2010: Women and
Theater Program/LGBT Focus Group Joint Preconference: ATHE, Los Angeles
o
Speaker/participant
in Women and Theatre Program/LGBT Focus Group joint preconference plenary
panel: Kinship and Shared Spaces / Exploring Queer Childhood
o
Other panelists
included Ricardo A. Bracho, Norma Bowles, and Ashley Lucas
·
2010: Comparative
Drama Conference, Los Angeles
o
Participant in
the Gender and Sexual Identity on Stage panel
o
Paper: Lanford
Wilson’s The Madness of Lady Bright:
A Queen’s Plea for Home as a Harbinger of Hope and a Duenna of Defiance
·
2007: Comparative
Drama Conference, Los Angeles
o
Participant in
the Mothers, Language, and Power in Shakespeare panel
o
Paper: A Victory
for Matriarchy? - Is All Well When Paroles Doesn't End Well?
·
2005: ATHE:
Association for Theater in Higher Education, San Francisco
o
Participant/Actor:
Play Development Workshop
o
Participant/Actor:
Jane Chambers Play Development Workshop, LGBT Focus Group
DIRECTORIAL EXPERIENCE
·
Catastrophe Collective, Spring 2019, Theatre Arts Capstone Project: Artistic
Director/Faculty Supervisor, Hecht Studio Theater, University of Miami,
Florida, Department of Theatre Arts
·
The Mask of Blackness, Spring 2019, written and performed by Estella McNair,
Hecht Studio Theater, University of Miami, Florida, Department of Theatre Arts
·
Talley’s Folly,
Spring 2018, Hecht Studio Theater, University of Miami, Florida, Department of
Theatre Arts
·
Lucid, Spring
2018, Theatre Arts Capstone Project: Artistic Director/Faculty Supervisor,
Hecht Studio Theater, University of Miami, Florida, Department of Theatre Arts
·
24-Hour Play Festival, Spring 2016, 2017, & 2019, Jerry Herman Ring
Theater, University of Miami, Department of Theatre Arts. Director, Co-Producer
and Artistic Director of the Festival
·
As Is, Fall
2015, Stonewall National Museum and Archives, Wilton Manors, Florida
·
Burn This, Spring
2015, Hecht Studio Theater, University of Miami, Department of Theatre Arts
·
Minatory Mansion, Summer 2009, Claremont School of Theatre Arts, Virginia Princehouse
Allen Theater, Pomona College Theatre and Dance Department
·
Fifth of July,
Fall 2007, Virginia Princehouse Allen Theater, Pomona College Theatre and Dance
Department
·
Hey Baby How’ve You Been?, Fall 2007, Highways Performance Space, Santa Monica,
CA. An original solo piece, curated by Leo Garcia for 4X4: Four New Works by
Four Queer Artists
·
Scene Studies,
2002-2019, As an acting teacher, I have directed hundreds of scene studies by a
variety of modern and contemporary playwrights including Albee, Beckett,
Chambers, Chekhov, Durang, Fornes, Inge, Kondoleon, Kushner, Lorca, Moraga,
Norman, Odets, Pinter, Shanley, Shepard, Stoppard, Valdez, Vogel, Wasserstein,
Wilde, Wilson, and Williams
·
10-Minute Play Festival, Artistic Director/Producer, Fall 2007, Spring 2009,
Spring 2010, Pomona College Department of Theatre and Dance.
COMPETE PERFORMANCE & ACTING RESUME
Please see:
http://resumes.actorsaccess.com/darrenblaney
PRODUCED ORIGINAL PLAYS
You May Now Kiss… My Sass…?
This solo show was
presented at Exit Theater in September of 2005, produced in conjunction with
the San Francisco Fringe Festival. It
was also presented at University of California, Davis in October of 2005. The piece satirizes and problematizes the
issue of same-sex marriage, and features eleven character depictions that
demand rapid character shifts
What the Hell Is Going on Here?
This play was
co-authored with feminist playwright Kristina Goodnight, and featured eleven
diverse characters. The piece was
produced in the Experimental Theater at UC Santa Cruz, in conjunction with the
Chautauqua Festival, Spring 2003. A political satire, the play grappled with
the inherent ironies of living in a pluralistic American society post-9/11
The Bird Club: Letter to Sandra Bernhard
This solo show was
presented at Phoenix Theater, produced in conjunction with the San Francisco
Fringe Festival, September 2001.
Excerpts from this piece were also presented at Highways Performance
Space in Los Angeles (November 2007).
The show in its entirety was also produced by Works San Jose (March
2004), as well as independently produced at Shotwell Studios in San Francisco
(April 2001) and at Santa Cruz’s Broadway Playhouse (May 2004). The piece features seven distinctive
character monologues that require intricate physical and vocal work in
performance
DRAMATURGY
·
Spring Awakening, Jerry Herman Ring Theatre, University of Miami, Spring 2017.
Director: Laura Rikard.
·
Romeo and Juliet, Jerry Herman Ring Theatre, University of Miami, Fall 2017. Director:
Laura Rikard
·
ADDITIONAL PERFORMANCE TRAINING
Pomona College: Movement & Voice, Claremont, CA,
2007 to 2010
·
Studied
Feldenkrais technique with Dr. Joyce Lu
·
Studied Alexander
technique with Meg W. Jolley
·
Studied Chicano
theater, physical acting, and commedia dell’arte under the direction of Dr.
Alma Martinez
·
Studied
Shakespearean verse, diction, and physical style under the tutelage of
Professor Leonard Pronko
University of California, Davis: Movement & Voice,
Davis, CA, 2005 to 2007
·
Studied
Fitzmaurice vocal technique & dialects with Melanie Julian
·
Studied “Body
Energy Centers” / chakra acting & movement technique with Dr. Jade
McCutcheon
Ian McRae Studio: Meisner Technique, Santa Cruz, CA,
2003 to 2004
·
Studied privately
for one year in an intensive program with Ian McRae, who held a seven-year
tenure as a senior acting instructor at Sanford Meisner’s Neighborhood
Playhouse in New York City
University of California, Santa Cruz: Yoga, Santa
Cruz, CA, 2002 to 2004
Studied Iyengar yoga
for two years with Julie Kimball
·
Also studied
Ashtanga, Hatha, Kundalini, Vinyassa, and Bikram yoga at various studios for
over 25 years
Bay Area Theater Sports: Long-form Improvisation, San
Francisco, CA, 2000 to 2002
·
Studied long-form
improvisation privately for two years with Regina Saisi, Diane Rachel, &
Rafe Chase
Herbert Berghof Studio & Baruch College, New York
City, 1996 to 1999
·
Studied acting,
improvisation, & Linklater technique at these Manhattan schools
Private Vocal Coaching, New York City, 1995 to 1999
·
Studied opera,
voice for the stage, and contemporary vocal styles with Aïnegua, Barbara
Christopher, & Ron Toutz
Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, Dance
Space Inc., Smith College, & Reed College, 1991 to 1995
·
Studied ballet,
modern, and jazz dance at these renowned schools in Manhattan, Massachusetts,
& Oregon
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
·
2013-2019, B.A.
Curriculum/Recruitment Committee – Ongoing committee working in consultation
with the Chair of Theatre Arts and the Dean of Arts and Sciences, University of
Miami. As a committee member, my contributions included creating course
proposals and syllabi for UM’s Senior Theatre Arts Capstone, and an LGBTQ
theater history class.
·
2013-2019,
Academic Advisor – Advised B.A. Theatre majors and minors at the University of
Miami, Florida
·
2017-2019,
Manuscript Peer Reviewer – American Studies, Managing Editor: Justine Greve,
amerstud@ku.edu
·
2011, Manuscript
Peer Reviewer – Dance Research Journal, editor: Professor Mark Franko
·
2008-10,
Curriculum Development Committee – Assisted in formulating learned outcomes,
learning goals, and assessment criteria for the Acting and General Theater
majors in the Pomona College Department of Theatre and Dance
·
2006-7, Graduate
Student Representative – Attended faculty meetings, compiled notes, mediated
and expressed graduate student concerns, and acted as a liaison between faculty
and students for the Department of Theater & Dance at UC Davis
·
2006-8, Research
Assistant – Associate Professor Jon Rossini, UC Davis
·
2003 to present,
Academic Reference – Have written over 40 recommendations for former and
current students for graduate work, scholarships, or study abroad
FELLOWSHIPS & AWARDS
·
2010,
Semifinalist, American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) New Faculty
Fellowship
·
An
interdisciplinary committee of faculty and administrators at UC Davis nominated
me for this two-year award
·
2004-2006, Eugene
Cota-Robles Fellowship, University of California, Davis
·
The Eugene
Cota-Robles Fellowship Program is a merit-based diversity enhancement two-year
fellowship program that provides financial support to assist students from
diverse backgrounds to successfully complete a graduate degree
OTHER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Freelance Actor
& Performer, 1985 to present
·
Worked for both
community-theater and regional equity companies including California
Shakespeare Festival, Marin Shakespeare, New Conservatory Theater Company and
Berkeley’s Shotgun Players in the San Francisco Bay Area; and the Main Street
Playhouse and Andrews Living Arts Theater in South Florida, as well as
independent dance troupes and musical ensembles
Independent
Producer, 1990 to present
·
Worked on a
variety of creative projects in California, Connecticut, Florida,
Massachusetts, New York, and Oregon
·
Organized and
managed independent musical groups and theater companies
·
Conceived,
designed, and distributed publicity materials including posters and postcards
·
Curated
performances and gallery exhibits
·
Wrote press
releases and programs
Red-Cross Certified
Swimming Instructor & Lifeguard 2012
to 2013
·
Worked for the
City of Tamarac, Florida and the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Complex as a pool
lifeguard and swimming instructor. Taught basic swimming and water survival
skills to hundreds of students in South Florida. Worked with all ages from
toddlers to elementary and high school students to working adults and senior
citizens
Freelance Graphic
Artist and Administrator 1998 to 2002
·
Worked
temporarily in various non-profit and corporate office environments as a
desktop publisher, graphic artist, and administrator. Competent in most Microsoft Office and Adobe
Graphics software programs
Metropolitan Museum
of Art 1995 to 1998
·
New York City,
NY. Worked in public relations and security at this internationally recognized
art museum, the largest in the Western Hemisphere
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
·
Resided in
Rennes, France for six months in an undergraduate student exchange program,
1989 to 1990
·
Regular active
participant at the French language lunch table at Pomona College’s Oldenborg
Center for Modern Languages and International Relations, 2007 to 2010
·
Traveled abroad
in Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Holland,
Ireland, Mexico, Morocco, Spain, and Sweden
·
Conversant in
French, beginner in Spanish
MEMBERSHIPS
American Studies
Association (ASA)
Association for
Theater in Higher Education (ATHE)
American Society for
Theatre Research (ASTR)
