Bio

kt shorb is an assistant professor of theater and dance at Macalester College. They are also a director, scholar, and facilitator. As an Arts Research with Communities of Color Fellow, they will conduct a year-long ethnographic research project with the Saint Paul-based Theater Mu. They hold a BM in music composition from Oberlin Conservatory, an MA in media studies from the University of Texas at Austin, and a PhD in performance as public practice from UT-Austin. shorb’s scholarship is rooted in critical race studies, queer studies, performance studies, and creative practice-as-research. It examines how queer people of color theater artists enact heroic and spectacular moments that defy common-sense notions of physics. They recently published “Reappropriation, Reparative Creativity, and Feeling Yellow in Generic Ensemble Company’s The Mikado: Reclaimed.” shorb also stage directs opera and has directed for Wolf Trap Opera and Chicago Summer Opera. shorb is currently the vice president for the Consortium of Asian American Theaters & Artists, the only national service organization for theater artists of the Asian and Pacific Islander diaspora.

kt shorb and Theater Mu
Using interviews, practice-as-research, participant observation, focus groups, and archival research, shorb is exploring Mu’s importance in Asian American aesthetic and notions of “home.” They will also create a narrative around Mu’s history in the Twin Cities and its impact on the Asian American community both locally and nationally that will also be part of an executive report exploring the feasibility of a potential capital campaign.