Title

Professor of Theater Arts

Theater Arts

Expertise

Dramatic Literature. Theater History. Performance Theory. Playwriting. Dramaturgy. Theater Criticism. American Studies. Gender Studies. Men's Studies. Film Studies. Visual Studies. Comparative Literature.

Profile

Professor Holmberg has taught courses in English, French, Spanish, comparative literature, film, dramatic literature, theater history, dramaturgy, and men’s studies. For many years he headed the graduate program in playwriting at Brandeis. Both "The Theatre of Robert Wilson" (Cambridge University Press, 1997) and "David Mamet and American Macho" (Cambridge University Press, 2012) use an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on anthropology, sociology, psychology, gender theory, sociolinguistics, history, literary theory, and visual studies. In addition to academia, Professor Holmberg has a career in the professional theater. As resident dramaturg and literary director of the American Repertory Theater, he has worked with many artists, including Robert Wilson, David Mamet, Richard Foreman, Philip Glass, and Anne Bogart. His articles on theater, film, and music have appeared in the "International Herald Tribune," the "Los Angeles Times", "The New York Times," "The Sunday New York Times Book Review," "The Washington Post," the "San Francisco Chronicle," "Stagebill," and "Opera News." He wrote the article for Leonard Bernstein’s recording of Wagner’s "Tristan und Isolde" and appeared in the film "Absolute Wilson" (2006). A second book on David Mamet is in press. Professor Holmberg's background in scholarship, in theater criticism, and in professional dramaturgy informs all his courses. His classes bridge the worlds of theory and practice, the library and the stage.