Back to top

Photograph of Andrew White

Andrew White Adjunct Professorial Lect Department of Performing Arts

Degrees
PhD, Theatre History, Theory and Criticism, University of Maryland College Park<br>MA, Theatre History, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign<br>BA, Liberal Arts (Great Books Program), St. John’s College, Annapolis MD

Languages Spoken
Greek (Ancient, Medieval, Modern); French; Latin; Italian; German
Bio
Andrew White (pictured here performing a pantomime in an ancient theatre in Turkey) is a theatre artist, dramaturg and historian who specializes in theatre and drama from Late Antiquity to the Renaissance. A veteran of the Fulbright program, White has worked as a translator, director, dramaturg and performer; professional theatre credits include Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Source Theatre (former company member) and Le Neon Theatre (company member). He served as dramaturg for American Century Theatre’s production “Women Under the Influence”, and provided essays for Mary Zimmerman’s production of Argonautica at the Shakespeare Theatre.
For the Media
To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

Partnerships & Affiliations

  • International Federation for Theatre Research
    Member 1998-Present

  • American Society for Theatre Research
    Member 1998-Present

  • Byzantine Studies Association of North America
    Member 1999-Present

  • Association for Theatre in Higher Education
    Member 1998-Present

Scholarly, Creative & Professional Activities

Research Interests

White’s primary interests are in Ancient Greek, Roman & Byzantine theatre and ritual, and his academic performances explore the theatrical implications of classical rhetoric and  dramatic literature, and political theatre.

Selected Publications

       
  •    

    “Glocality, Byzantine Style:  A Study in Pre-Electronic Culture,” Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism 23 (2009), 67-76.

       
    •    
  •    

    “Greek Mythology” and “Roman Mythology.”  In Essential Visual History of World Mythology (Washington, D.C.:  National Geographic, 2008), 106-223.

       
    •    
  •    

    “The Office of the Three Children:  New Observations and Approaches.”  In Performing Byzantium:  Proceedings of the 39th Symposium of Byzantine Studies, ed. Margaret Mullet (Variorum SPBS, 2009) (forthcoming).

       
    •    
  •    

    “The Drama-as-Performance in the Greek East.”  In Points of Contact:  the Reception of Greek Tragedy from the Fourth Century BC to Shakespeare, ed. Ingo Gildenhard and Martin Revermann (De Gruyter, 2009) (forthcoming).

       
    •    
  •    

    “On Actors as Honest Working Stiffs:  Selections from a new Translation of Choricius of Gaza’s ‘Defense of the Mimes.’”  Basilissa 2 (forthcoming).

       
    •    
  •    

    “From Ritual to Drama, from Mass to Liturgy:  A Comparative Study of Eastern and Western Rites of the Middle Ages,” Scripta Classica 4, 26-44.

       
    •    
  •    

    “From Euripides to Koukouzeles and back: A Survey of Greek Musical Culture from Antiquity to Late Byzantine Times", in Stephanos. Tribute to Walter Puchner,  ed. Iossif Vivilakis,(Parabasis 5; Ergo Editions, Athens 2007), 1367-1380.

       
    •    
  • “A Journey though Argonautica” and “About the Authors,” (Critical Essay and biographies), Season Guide 2007-2008, Shakespeare Theatre Company, August 2007, 42-51.

Films/Documentaries

       
  • The Cherry Orchard, dir. Ivan Kovachev, released 1999. Role: Lopakhin.

Work In Progress

       
  • Annotated translation, Choricius of Gaza’s “Defense of the Mimes”.
    •    
  •    

    Full-length study, “A New History of Greek Theatre from Antiquity to the Renaissance”.

       
    •    
  •    

    Performance:  “Enoch Arden” (Alfred Lord Tennyson).

       

Honors, Awards, and Fellowships

       
  •    

    Fulbright Fellow, 2003-2004, Athens, Greece.

       
    •    
  •    

    Oscar Broneer Travel Fellowship, 2004, Turkey.

       
    •    
  •    

    Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities & Colleges, 2003.

       
    •    
  •    

    Thomas F. Marshall Travel Fellowship, American Society for Theatre Research, 2002.

       
    •    
  •    

    Excellence in Research Presentation, University of Maryland Graduate Research InteractionDay Program, April 2000 & April 2001.

       
    •    
  •    

    Distinguished Teaching Assistant, Department of Theatre, University of Maryland, College Park, 1999-2000.

       
    •    
  • Goldhaber Travel Grant, American Society for Theatre Research Conference, November, 1999.

Professional Presentations

       
  • “Schools for Scandal:  Reviewing the Evidence for Rhetoric as Theatre in Late Antiquity.”  27th International Society for the History of Rhetoric Conference, Montreal, Quebec, July 19-25, 2009.
    •    
  •    

    “The Question of Drama and the Byzantine Theatron.”  33rd Byzantine Studies Conference, New Brunswick, NJ, October 16-19, 2008.

       
    •    
  •    

    “The Performance of Drama in the Greek East, From the Age of Alexander to the Middle Ages.” 42nd International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, MI, May 10-13, 2007.

       
    •    
  • “Theatre and Drama in Byzantium:      New Approaches, New Contexts.”  32nd Byzantine Studies Conference, St. Louis, MO, November 10-12, 2006.
    •    
  •    

    “Staging Alfred Lilienthal.”  15th World Congress, International Federation for Theatre Research, Helsinki, Finland, August 7-12, 2006. 

       
    •    
  • “Why the Archbishop Hates Passion Plays.”  41st International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, MI , May 11-14, 2006.
    •    
  •    

    “The Humanity of the Byzantine Mime:  Choricius of Gaza and the Sixth Century Theatre.”  31st Byzantine Studies Conference, Athens, GA, October 28-30, 2005.

       
    •    
  •    

    “The Office of the Three Children:  New Observations and Approaches.”  39th Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies, Belfast, Ireland, April 2-4, 2005.

       
    •    
  •    

    “The Accidental Christian:  On Byzantine Drama, Conversions, and Martyred Mimes.”  Comparative Drama Conference, Columbus, OH, April 24-26, 2003.

       
    •    
  •    

    “The Fate of Theatre in Byzantium – New Strategies & Perspectives.”  14th World Congress of the IFTR/FIRT, Amsterdam, Netherlands,.June 30-July 6, 2002.

       
    •    
  • “Shakespeare, Thou Art Translated!” A Call for Shakespeare in Modern, Poetic English.”  American Society for Theatre Research Conference, San Diego, CA, November 16-18, 2001.
    •    
  •    

    “Studies in Grassroots Historiography: The Case of the Skomorokhi.”  American Society for Theatre Research, Minneapolis, MN, Nov. 12-15, 1999.

       

Exhibitions/Performances

Academic Performances:

       
  • Performer, “Annual Byzantine Theatron,” 33rd Byzantine Studies Conference, Toronto, Ontario. October 13, 2007; 34th Byzantine Studies Conference, New Brunswick, New Jersey, October 18, 2008; & 35th Byzantine Studies Conference, Sarasota Florida (November 5, 2009 – forthcoming).
    •    
  • Translator, Performer, Defense of the Mimes (Choricius of Gaza), performed at: 31st Byzantine Studies Conference, Athens, GA, October 30, 2005; International Federation of Theatre Research Conference, College Park, Maryland, June 29, 2005; 39th Symposium of Byzantine Studies, Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, April 2, 2005.
    •    
  • Director, Performer, excerpts from The Tale of the Mimes (translated by Cornelia Horn); 39th Symposium of Byzantine Studies, Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, April 2, 2005.
    •    
  • Producer, Adaptor, excerpts from The Tale of the Mimes (Cornelia Horn, translator); 28th Byzantine Studies Conference, Ohio State University, October 6, 2002.
    •    
  • Co-Author, Producer and Director, The Apostate (Staged Reading); Lab Theatre, Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, University of Maryland, College Park, March 11 & 12, 2001.
    •    
  • Producer, Director and Domestikos (Cantor), The Office of the Three Children in the Fiery Furnace (traditional; transcribed by Milos Velimirovic); 25th Byzantine Studies Conference, University of Maryland College Park, November 3, 1999.