Northern Illinois University
Paul Kassel
College of Visual and Performing Arts

Books and Book Chapters

The Actor’s Path: An Evolutionary Approach to the Art and Craft of Playing. E-book in development. Anticipated launch Spring 2019.

Acting: An Introduction to the Art and Craft of Playing. Allyn & Bacon. Boston. April 2006.

“Random Acts.” Method Acting Reconsidered: Theory, Practice, Future. Ed. David Krasner. New York. Palgrave MacMillan, 2000.

Refereed Articles

“The Four Fundamental Verbs: An Approach to Playing Actions.” Theatre Topics. 9 (1991): 181-195.

Abstracts/Book Reviews

“John Barrymore, Shakespearean Actor.” Book Review. Theatre History Studies. 18 (1998): 173-174.

Miscellaneous Published Materials

Rationale Task Force. Theatre Studies in Higher Education: Learning for a Lifetime. Booklet. Association for Theatre in Higher Education. August 1997.

Editorship

The Players’ Journal. For and by members of the community of actors and acting teachers. Managing Editor. Created, and currently maintain, website: theplayersjournal.org. 2005-present.

The Beat: The Official Newsletter for the Acting Program Focus Group of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education. 1993-1997.

Website Nanagement

The Acting Program of ATHE. The Official Website for the Acting Program Focus Group of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education. 1999-2003. Maintain site. Work with Focus Group Representative and Conference Planner to format and edit documents; Work with educators to format and edit syllabi, exercises, and other resources for the field. Format and edit articles for on-line edition of The Beat.

Department of Theatre Arts. SUNY Stony Brook. In conjunction with specialist, design and maintain website. Coordinate content with departmental secretary. Assist faculty in the development of on-line instruction. Act as liaison with Instructional Computing and Division of Information Technology for the department.

Invited Lectures and Papers

“Acting Theory and Classroom Pedagogy.” Convener and Chair. Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference. Denver, CO. 30 July – 3 August 2008.

“Acting Teaching/Teaching Acting.” Presenter. Performance Studies Conference. University of Massachusetts. Amherst, MA. 2-4 June 2005.

“Prime Performance: Taking and Eliciting Effective Action.” Performing-the-World Conference. Montauk, NY. 13 October 2001.

“The First Folio Approach.” Presenter. Millennial Shakespeare: Performance/Text/Scholarship Conference. Hofstra University. Westbury, New York. 11 November 1999.

Conference Papers/Presentations

Presenter. "The Creative Path to College Success."  International Conference of Fine Arts Deans.  Hallifax, Nova Scotia. 19 October 2017.

Presenter. “The Apollonian and Dionysian: collaborations between STEM and the Arts.” International Conference of Fine Arts Deans. Kansas City, MO. 23 October 2014.

Presenter. “Towards [More] Meaningful Assessment: Using Video and Qualitative Methods to Document Arts, Teaching, and Learning.” International Conference of Fine Arts Deans. Minneapolis, MN. 25 October 2012.

Presenter. “Towards [More] Meaningful Assessment: Using Video and Qualitative Methods to Document Arts, Teaching, and Learning.” Assessing the Arts Conference. Denver, CO. 10 July 2012.

Presenter. “Acting and Neuroscience: The Biology of Acting–Memory, Mirror Neurons, and Intentionality.” Association for Theatre in Higher Education. Chicago, IL 13 August 2011.

Presenter. “(Rehearsal) Hall of Mirrors.” Cognitive Science in Theatre and Performance Working Group. American Society of Theatre Research conference. Seattle, WA. 19 November 2010

Presenter. “Mirror Neurons and the Method of Physical Action.” Panel: Stanislavski, Cognition and Action. Association for Theatre in Higher Education. New York, NY. 11 August 2009.

Participant. “The Players’ Journal. Panel: Writing for Practitioners.” Association for Theatre in Higher Education. New York, NY. 9 August 2009.

Presenter. “Waiting for Feydeau: Tips and Tricks for Staging Farce.” New York Theatre Educators’ Association Educator’s Conference. White Plains, NY. 26 September 2009.

Presenter. “Preparing the College Audition.” New York Theatre Educators’ Association Educator’s Conference. White Plains, NY. 26 September 2009.

Presenter. The Play’s the Thing: Creating Inter/Multi/Trans-Disciplinary Activities through Production. New York State Theatre Educators. Educator’s Conference. Syracuse, NY 26-27 September.

Presenter. “Performing Across the Curriculum-Or-Everything is Showbiz.” New York State Theatre Educators. Educator’s Conference. Syracuse, NY 26-27 September.

“Build Your Best Case: The External File.” Presenter. Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference. Chicago. 31 July – 2 August 2006.

“Class War.” Actor. Ten-minute Playwriting Competition. Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference. San Francisco. 28-31 July 2005.

“The Circle—A tool for generating organic blocking in rehearsal.” Panel participant. Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference. San Francisco. 28-31 July 2005.

“Adjudicated Workshop of Debut and Adapted Acting Exercises.” Adjudicator. Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference. San Francisco. 28-31 July 2005.

“Staging and Performing Intimacy.” Panel chair and participant. Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference. Toronto, Canada. 28 July -1 August 2004.

“Now What? Training Actors to Bridge the Gap Between Improv and Text.” Panel Participant. Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference. New York, NY. 31 July -3 August 2003.

“The BA(sics): Actor Training for the Liberal Artist.” Panel Participant. Session Coordinator. Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference. Washington, DC. 2-5 August 2000.

“Wreaking Havoc: Creating Violence Through Collaboration of Acting, Voice and Movement.” Panel Participant. Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference. Washington, DC. 2-5 August 2000.

“Symphony of Silence.” Actor. Ten-minute Playwriting Competition. Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference. Toronto, Ontario. 26 July-1 August, 1999.

“Get the Job, Keep the Job.” Panelist/Chair. Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference. Toronto, Ontario. 26 July-1 August, 1999.

“Surviving the Masterclass at the On-campus Interview.” Panel Chair. Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference. San Antonio, TX. 6-10 August 1998.

“Will Theatre Survive? A Rationale for Theatre in Higher Education.” Panel participant. Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference. Chicago, IL. 5-9 August 1997.

“Negotiating the Creative Relationship: Teaching and Directing Students.” Panel Chair. Illinois Theatre Association Conference. Chicago, IL. 5-6 October 1996.

“Emotion and the American Acting Student: Multidisciplinary Perspectives.” Panel participant. Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference. New York, NY. 7-10 August 1996.

“Shakespeare Unplugged!” Workshop leader. Illinois High School Theatre Festival. Illinois State University, Normal, IL. 5 January 1996.

“The First Folio in Performance: An Actor’s Perspective.” Paper presentation. Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference. San Francisco, CA. 9-12 August 1995.

“A Master Shakespeare Class with Patrick Tucker—the Monologue.” Workshop Chair. Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference. San Francisco, CA. 9-12 August 1995.

“The Peer Review Process: Peer Reviews for Actors and Teachers of Actors.” Panel participant. 1995 Mid-American Theatre Conference. Kansas City, KS. 17 March 1995.

“Tales from the Script: Surviving as an Actor in New York City.” Workshop leader. Illinois High School Theatre Festival. University of Illinois. Champaign, IL. 4-5 January 1995.

“I Am not an Island: Integrating Voice, Movement, and Acting in the Classroom and Curriculum.” Panel Chair. Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference. Chicago, IL. 27-30 July 1994.

“A Master Shakespeare Class with Patrick Tucker.” Workshop Chair. Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference. Chicago, IL. 27-30 July 1994.

“Reaching Equilibrium: 21st Century Acting Theory.” Paper presentation. Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference. Philadelphia, PA. 4-7 August 1993.

“Have at You! Dueling as an Acting Method and a Metaphor for the Dramatic Illusion.” Workshop leader. Association for Theatre in Higher Education Conference. Atlanta, GA. 12-15 August 1992.