Gibson Alessandro Cima is an assistant professor of theatre history and head of the bachelor of arts in theatre studies program in Northern Illinois University’s School of Theatre and Dance. He researches South African theatre and performance, theatre from the Global South, and post-colonial theory.
Education
University of Washington, School of Drama Ph.D. in Theatre History, Literature, & Theory, 2012.
The Ohio State University, College of Arts and Sciences M.A. in Theatre History, Literature & Criticism, 2007.
Georgetown University, Georgetown College B.A. with honors in English, 2004.
Expertise
- South African theatre and performance
- Theatre from the Global South
- Post-colonial theory in performance
- Applied and devised theatre
- Shakespeare adaptation and performance
Courses Taught
- Aesthetics of Theatre
- Business of Theatre
- Contemporary African Theatre: Voices of Protest
- Devising Theatre
- Directing I & II
- History of the Theatre I & II
- Introduction to Theatre
- Research Techniques in Theatre Arts
- Script Analysis
- Script Lab II: Global Theatre for Social Change
- Script Lab III: Global Postmodernism
- Senior Capstone Project
- Transdisciplinary Performance Practices
Publications
- “After Revivals: New Protest Theatre by “Born Free” South Africans,” in Routledge Handbook on African Theatre and Performance, (Routledge, 2024), 281-293.
- “History Plays: Performing the Anti-Apartheid Movement on Contemporary South African Stages,” in Theatre After Empire edited by Megan Geigner and Harvey Young (Routledge, 2021), 68-84.
- “The Book of Mormon’s African Fantasies,” in Singing and Dancing the Book of Mormon: Critical Essays on the Broadway Musical, (Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Press, 2016), 129-142.