Mead Hunter began his theater career as playwright-in-residence for the legendary Storefront Actors’ Theatre of Portland, Oregon. He earned an MFA in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism from Yale University and a PhD in Critical Studies from UCLA. He has taught performance history and text analysis at UCLA, UC San Diego, University of Iowa, and CalArts. Today Mead is a professor in the Performing Arts Department of the University of Portland, where he teaches theater history, dramaturgy and script analysis. He also guest lectures on contemporary theater at institutions around the United States, and frequently dramaturgys or consults for various art service organizations. Past collaborators have included South Coast Rep’s Pacific Playwrights Festival, the Kennedy Center, University of Iowa’s...
Mead Hunter began his theater career as playwright-in-residence for the legendary Storefront Actors’ Theatre of Portland, Oregon. He earned an MFA in Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism from Yale University and a PhD in Critical Studies from UCLA. He has taught performance history and text analysis at UCLA, UC San Diego, University of Iowa, and CalArts. Today Mead is a professor in the Performing Arts Department of the University of Portland, where he teaches theater history, dramaturgy and script analysis. He also guest lectures on contemporary theater at institutions around the United States, and frequently dramaturgys or consults for various art service organizations. Past collaborators have included South Coast Rep’s Pacific Playwrights Festival, the Kennedy Center, University of Iowa’s Festival of New Plays, the Mark Taper Forum’s New Work Festival, and Denver Center for the Performing Arts.
As a journalist he has contributed to many publications, including Performing Arts Journal and American Theatre. His worked has been anthologized in The Playwright’s Muse (Heinemann Press) and Interculturalism (PAJ Publications). For six years he served as Editor-in-Chief of Parabasis, a triannual journal for playwrights.
For 10 years he served as Director of Literary Programs for A.S.K. Theater Projects in Los Angeles where he commissioned many original scripts, including Naomi Iizuka’s 36 Views, Kraken by Len Jenkin, Marlane Meyer’s The Mystery of Attraction, Mayhem by Kelly Stuart, Julie Jensen’s Two-Headed, and The Lively Lad by Quincy Long. He also curated a festival of ensemble-generated theater known as Common Ground, which from 1996-2002 introduced scores of groundbreaking troupes to Los Angeles, including Diavolo Dance Company, Redmoon Theater, Fabulous Monsters and Mabou Mines. Also while in Los Angeles, he curated the popular Hot Properties production series at the John Anson Ford Theater from 1999-2001, and served on the Board of Directors of the Ghost Road Theater Company.
From 2002-2009, Mead was Portland Center Stage’s Director Literary & Education Programs. While at PCS, he was the production dramaturg on many world premieres, including Outrage, Celebrity Row, Another Fine Mess, O Lovely Glowworm and Apollo, in addition to curating the company’s annual festival of new work, JAW (Just Add Water). He also taught frequently in PCS’s GreenHouse School of Theater, an educational institution that he founded.
He’s proud to note that he’s a former artistic director of The New Harmony Project, a marvelous play development organization dedicated to supporting new works for performance that reflect the resilience of the human spirit.