Heather M. Kelley, PhD
a.k.a. "Dr. Ghost"
Theatre Artist, Educator & Scholar
Heather is a scholartist and lecturer at the University of Colorado Boulder. A lover of all things spooky, she holds an M.F.A. in Acting from Florida State University/Asolo Conservatory and a Ph.D. in Theatre & Performance Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder.
Experience
Summary
Heather has taught theatre at the college level for over ten years as an adjunct faculty member of the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Northern Colorado, and Kean University. While at Kean, Heather served as the Director of Audience Services for Premiere Stages, the professional theatre in residence at the university. A New York-based actor for many years, Heather is a former company member of the New York Neo-Futurists and Mad Dog Theatre Company, and a longtime collaborator of South Brooklyn Shakespeare.
Recent Colorado credits include Daisy Violet the Bitch Beast King (Dramaturg) at Feather Fall Theatre Company and Let the Right One In (Director) at the University of Colorado Boulder.
Research and Publications
Heather's current research focuses on intersections between theatre and spirituality, including theatre ghostlore, ghost tourism, and depictions of the supernatural on stage and on screen. Her dissertation, "Spectating Spirits: Three American Theatres and Their Ghosts," examined the reported hauntings of the Alley Theatre (Houston, TX), Eugene O'Neill Theater Center (Waterford, CT), and Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré (New Orleans, LA).
Recent publications include “Hope Springs Eternal: Performing Grief, History, and Resilience in Boulder’s Columbia Cemetery” in Performance, Religion & Spirituality, and “The Ghost at the Top of the Stairs: Apparitions of Trauma and White Supremacy in Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Appropriate” in Routledge’s The Figure of the Monster in Global Theatre: Further Readings on the Aesthetics of Disqualification (eds. Michael Chemers and Analola Santana).