Dr. Karen Peterson Wilson
Professor of Theater
Office: Room 44, Speech Theatre
St. Olaf College Theatre Dept.
1520 St. Olaf Ave.
Northfield, MN 55057
Phone: (507) 786-3370
wilsonk@stolaf.edu
EDUCATION
PhD Theatre Arts, University of Minnesota.
Distinctions: Philosophy of Theatre, Acting, Playwriting and Dramatic Theory
Dissertation: A Study of the Managerial Techniques Used by Directors of Theater at LORT A, B+, B, C, and D Theatres in the U.S., 1987-88
COURSES TAUGHT (* Signifies new course)
Intro. to Acting History of Th. –1700 *Modern Am. Dr. Idea of Theater
Intro. to the Arts *Theater and the Church *Mgmt and the Arts Lyric Acting
Intro. to Theater Stage Direction *Plays in Progress *Theater Perspectives
Training the Speaking Voice Intermediate Acting Acting for Nonmajors
Oral Interp. of Literature Intermediate Directing History of Th. 1700-Present
Oral Interp. of Drama Voice for the Actor Voice and Phonetics
*20th Century Dramatic Lit. Theater in London (Intl.) *Stage Combat
Fine Arts Senior Seminar Producing Theater- Intro. Prod. Theater- Advanced
Topics in Interp. and Theater Voice for the Non-Actor *Contemp. World Th.
*Theatre in Society (Ethics class) *Intro to Performance (w/ Laurie Carlos)
*Cross Cultural Understanding Through the Performing Arts
*Who Owns the Arts: Censorship, Sponsorship and Artistic Freedom (Ethics class)
*Ind. Study Projects, Ind. Research Projects, Paracollege Projects, CIS Projects, Internships
Directing for the St. Olaf Theatre:
The Aerodynamics of Accident (Stein) October, 2008 (New Plays on Campus Program)
Blood Brothers (musical, Russell), November, 2007
Urinetown (musical, Hollmann/Kotis), November, 2006
Lobster Alice (Obolensky), November, 2005 (New Plays on Campus Program)
Perpetua (Delaney) October, 2004 (New Plays on Campus Program)
The American Clock (musical, Miller) November, 2003
Blue Window (Lucas) February, 2003
Art (Reza/Hampton) October 2001
The Illusion (Corneille/Kushner) October, 1999
Rowan of Rin (adaptation by K.P. Wilson), original musical, November, 1998
Fiddler on the Roof (musical, Stein, Harnick, Bock) November, 1997
The Clown of God (musical, by de Paola) November, 1995
Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare) November, 1988
The Miser (Moliere) April, 1988
The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore (Williams) Feb., 1988
Old Heads and Young Hearts (Boucicault) February, 1987
A Winter’s Tale (Shakespeare) April, 1986
Tales from Hollywood (C. Hampton) Midwest premiere. November, 1985
Playboy of the Western World (Synge) February, 1985
Home (Storey) October, 1984
The Night of the Iguana (T. Williams) November, 1983
Spider’s Web (Christie) November, 1982
The Death and Life of Sneaky Fitch (Rosenberg) Children's Theater Institute, 1982
Lady from the Sea (Ibsen) October, 1981
Lonely House (Denton) in connection with the Cricket Theatre in Mpls., October, 1980
Hippolytus (Euripides) March, 1980
AWARDS
Excellence in Service Award: February, 2008 received an Excellence in Service Award from Education Commissioner, Alice Seagren, for work provided to the State of MN as a member of the Minnesota Academic Standards Arts Revision Committee.
Outstanding Individual in Communication and Theater Award: 2005 Recipient from the Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota
Certificate of Recognition from the MN Department of Education for serving on the committee that developed and implemented the MN Scholars of Distinction in Theater program
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
STATE
Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota (CTAM)
Elected Office: Executive Committee, Board of Governors, Secretary, ’01,’03,’05,‘07
MN State High School League (MSHSL)
Position: Certified & Registered Judge 1986-present
Position: State One-Act Play Judge: Invited judge, 2005 MN Class A State One
Act Play Festival at O’Shaughnessy Auditorium.
Perpich Center for Arts Education (PCAE)
Position: Invited Higher Education Committee Rep. “Scholars of Distinction in Theater”
NATIONAL
Association for Theater in Higher Education (ATHE)
Position held: Panel Adjudicator, Committee for Theater as a Liberal Art
Responsibilities: Review/select panel proposals for National Conference, 2001
INTERNATIONAL
Queensland Association for Drama in Education (QADIE)
Position: Guest speaker at International Conference, Brisbane, Australia
Topic: "The Status of Women in Theater". Brisbane, Australia, 1993.
Special Projects
Anna Bonde Fifth Year Apprenticeship in Theater: Supervised the creation of this program for St. Olaf Theater graduates. Initial year with three apprenticeships (2007-2008).
New Plays on Campus Project: Participated in the development of an innovative model of integrating educational theatre with the professional theatre with the MN Playwrights’ Center and directed the pilot production (Perpetua by Delaney). The program has been presented at State and National conferences and has expanded to twenty enrollees in ten states including the Kennedy Center.
NAST Reaccreditation: Department Coordinator for 2001-02 National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST) reaccreditation process, St. Olaf Theatre, renewed for 10 years.
Rowan of Rin: Conceived, wrote and directed an original adaptation of this award-winning book by Emily Rodda. Received a SEMAC grant to bring in local schools to special matinees with post-show discussion and back stage tours. Collaborated with Peter Hamlin and Tony Holt (Music Dept) on this original musical. World premiere at St. Olaf, 1998.
The Spirit of the People: Commissioned to research, write, and direct an original work based on Methodist archival material. Musical production performed at Richfield United Methodist Church and the Methodist Jurisdictional Conference. Duluth, MN, 1984.
Theatre and Dance State Licensure (K-12): Fall, 2004: Member of the task force to re-write the rules for Theater/Dance licensure for the MN Board of Teaching. This action resulted in three-tracks: a combined Theatre/Dance license, a Theater license, a Dance license.
Recognizing National Theater Leadership: Assisted with the program which conferred an honorary doctor of Fine Arts degree upon Garland Wright, former Artistic Director of the Guthrie Theater, Feb. 27, 1996 at St. Olaf College with Pat Quade and Lowell Johnson.
Theta Alpha Phi: Created the original Beta Chapter of Theta Alpha Phi (TAP), the theatre honorary society, on the St. Olaf campus, April 1987, served as Campus Faculty adviser. Currently working on developing the new Alpha Psi Omega chapter on campus.
Boldt Fellow: Accepted as a Boldt Fellow in EIN (Ethical Issues and Normative Perspectives) Seminar and Summer Workshops, 2001, 2005. Result: two new classes “Who Owns the Arts: Censorship, Sponsorship and Artistic Freedom” and “Theater in Society”.
Current research: Can we use theater to study ethics? Can the theater raise questions about who we are (character) and about what we do (conduct)?
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
•Theatre in London International Studies program leader, St. Olaf, 28 students, January,
2008
•Theatre in London International Studies program leader, St. Olaf, 26 students, January, 2005
•Theatre in London International Studies program leader, St. Olaf, 29 students, January, 1999
•St. Olaf College Choir Companion Tour to Australia leader for parents and alumni, 1997
•Six months in Australia writing adaptation of Rowan of Rin, based on the award winning
Australian novel by Emily Rodda, 1996-97
•Workshop Leader: Brisbane, Australia, Youth of Australia Fellowship production team
preparing for the National Christian Youth Convention (acting, use of the voice,
running stage crews, and theater in a religious setting), 1993
•Invited Conference Speaker: Queensland Association for Drama in Education (QADIE)State conference on "The Status of Women in Theater". Brisbane, Australia, 1993
