Mary Luckhurst, professor of drama, University of York (United Kingdom)
Luckhurst’s lecture is based on the research for her recent book, Playing for Real, for which she interviewed actors such as Ian McKellen and Jeremy Irons on their experiences playing roles that were “real people” rather than fictional characters. The book covers such roles as Adolf Hitler, Lawrence of Arabia, Charles Dickens, and Sigmund Freud.
Luckhurst is the author and editor of ten books about theatre history and performance processes, including On Acting, On Directing, Blackwell’s Companion to British and Irish Drama, and Theatre and Celebrity. This year, she is the director of two international theatre conferences at York. She is also the co-founder of the new Department of Theatre, Film, and Television at the University of York, United Kingdom.
Sponsored by a College of Arts and Letters Teaching Beyond the Classroom grant; the Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts; the Deparmtent of Film, Television, and Theatre; and the Nanovic Institute for European Studies