James Webb

Assistant Professor of Theatre

Education

  • Ph.D. New York University
  • M.F.A. University of Florida
  • B.A. Florida A&M University

Background

I am an artist, scholar and educator, whose work for the last two decades has been devoted to creating and facilitating theatre experiences for adults and youth; conducting research that uses theatre to investigate sociological questions; and teaching theatre in college classrooms, summer camps, and professional workshops.

Prior to my work at Davidson, I wrote and directed several original full-length plays, including The Contract (Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award), Mississippi Crossroad (Eugene O’Neill Semi-finalist), and Sibling Rivalry. My plays were developed and produced at the Ensemble Studio Theatre/LA, National Black Theatre, Essential Theatre, Portland’s Confrontational Theatre, African Continuum Theater Company, and Queen City New Play Festival. I also worked with the Irene C. Edmonds Youth Theatre in Tallahassee, Florida as a summer artist-in-residence for the ten years, writing and directing original children’s plays, including Wrestling with Angels, The House of Jean-RenĆ©, Rising Star, and STEAM

My scholarly research has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including ArtsPraxis, Continuum, and William Mitchell Law Review. In July 2022, my article, ā€œCollaborative Playbuilding and the Act of Crystallization,ā€ was published in Applied Theatre Research. In the article, I discuss how I used theatre to investigate why some African Americans leave the Black Church and choose not to return.

As a theatre professor, I specialize in teaching acting (using Konstantin Stanislavski and Uta Hagen techniques), movement (using Laban), playwriting, and Black contemporary theatre. In Fall 2023, I’ll be directing my first play at 91µ¼ŗ½ in the Barber Theatre called Blood at the Root by Dominique Morisseau.