Biography
Grace Kessler Overbeke is an Assistant Professor in the Theatre Department of Columbia College with a focus on Comedy Studies. Previously, she served as the Perilman Postdoctoral Fellow in Jewish Studies at Duke University. She has also taught in less traditional academic settings such as the Cook County Department of Corrections and Miriam's Kitchen Social Services Organization.
Her most recent scholarship appears in Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies, Theatre Topics, and Theatre Annual. Other publications appear in The New England Theatre Journal, Theatre Survey, Studies in American Humor, and The Jewish Forward.
She was the recipient of the Mark and Ruth Luckens International Prize in Jewish Thought and Culture, and the Northwestern Crown Center Fellowship for Jewish and Israel Studies.
As a dramaturg, she has worked with Duke University, Northwestern University, Adventure Stage Chicago, The Kennedy Center for Young Audiences, The Studio Theatre, Portland Stage Company, the La Jolla Playhouse, The Cleveland Playhouse, and Theater J.
She received her B.A. in Theatre and English from Wesleyan University, and her M.A. and Ph.D. from Northwestern University's Interdisciplinary PhD in Theatre and Drama.
Instructional Areas
Comedy Studies, Theatre for Social Change, Jewish Performance, Theatre History
Creative Practice and Research Interests
American Studies, Jewish Studies, Theatre Studies, Comedy Studies, Dramaturgy
Degrees
B.A., Theater Wesleyan University 2008
M.A., Theatre Northwestern University 2015
Ph.D., Theatre & Drama Northwestern University 2019