Visiting Assistant Professor of Theatre
Chakeres Theatre
oehlersa@uupt.net
Adrienne Gibbons Oehlers, Visiting Assistant Professor, is a teacher, director, scholar, and performer. She teaches courses in Theatre History, Acting, Directing, and Musical Theatre. Her work intersects both dance and theatre, and her research is focused on female dance ensembles in musical theatre, particularly that of African American women in the first half of the twentieth century. Her interest in ensembles stems from her professional experience in musical theatre, appearing in numerous regional theatres, National and European tours, on Broadway in the original cast of The Producers, and as a Radio City Rockette. At Wittenberg, she has directed Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches, Theory of Relativity, and Seven Homeless Mammoths Wander New England (cut short due to COVID). She has taught at Tthe Ohio State University, Denison University, and Clark State College, and was a guest lecturer at Grinnell College, Dickinson College, and at the University of Buffalo.
Oehlers has presented her research at numerous national conferences, including American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR), Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE), and Dance Studies Association (DSA). She has served as the Communications Coordinator for Music Theatre Dance Association (MTDA) from 2021-2024 and is the incoming conference planner for MTDA@ATHE. She has published articles, essays, and reviews in Theatre Topics, Dance Chronicle, Dance Research Journal, and Studies in Musical Theatre.
Oehlers holds a B.A. from Barnard College and M.A. and Ph.D. in from The Ohio State University and was a recipient of the American Association of University Women Dissertation Fellowship, the Alumnae Association of Barnard College Fellowship, and the OSU University Fellowship. She lives in Springfield with her husband and four children.