Nancy Hoffman
Visiting Assistant Professor of Theater
Joined Connecticut College: 2007
Education
B.A. Health and Society, University of Rochester, 1990; Certificate, Screenwriting, University of Washington, 1999; B.A., English Literature and Creative Writing, University of Washington, 2001; M.F.A., Theater Arts – Dramaturgy, University of Iowa, 2004
Specializations
Comedy
New play development
Community building through the arts
- Contact Nancy Hoffman
One of theater's primary functions is to connect people to each other. Stories are an essential building block of our lives - one of our basic needs, right alongside food, clothing and shelter. We must both be heard and listen to others in order to thrive.
In the interest of connecting people, I am especially interested in the comic theater moment. Comedic portrayals of the human condition disarm social and personal barriers and provide vital common ground on which people can meet. This is no small matter in today's world.
I am an all-around theater artist, with training in acting, directing, playwriting and dramaturgy; I bring a multi-disciplinary approach to my teaching. Favorite projects at Connecticut College include reading in The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later; directing The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek, Doubt, Language of Angels, and Where We're Coming From, a student-devised piece on race and ethnicity.
Insomuch as I value building community, I enjoy connecting people on campus through the arts. On the 10-year anniversary of Matthew Shepard's death, I worked with the LGBTQ Center and the CCSRE to stage a reading of The Laramie Project. Last year as part of the campus follow-up to the Teach-In on Homophobia, I brought Australian trans performance artist Sunny Drake to perform his one-man show, Other-wise. For the 2011-12 school year, I'm bringing hip-hop theater artists to campus to help students study the range of performance possibilities of hip-hop modalities in theater.
At the end of the day, my home base in theater is script development. A writer and dramaturg, I am always interested in supporting student writers. I am happy to read your script and offer feedback.
Visit the theater department website.
