OUR STAFF:
Dr Miranda Lundskaer-Nielsen
Personal Statement
I am a Senior Lecturer in Drama in the Department of Performing Arts, specialising in Musical Theatre, American Drama and Dramaturgy.
QUALIFICATIONS
I gained an MA in Text and Performance studies from RADA/ Kings College London and a PhD in Theatre from Columbia University in New York.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
My practical experience includes work as an associate director on productions of Marriage of Figaro, Macbeth, Ostrovsky's A Family Affair, a new adaptation of Alain Fournier's Le Grand Meaulnes and the world premiere of Timberlake Wertenbaker's translation of Pelleas and Melisande.
In New York, my experience as a script reader / literary manager/dramaturg included work for the New York Public Theater, commercial producer Jim Freydberg and the writer-driven Harbor Theatre Company. From 2004-5 I was a Founding Producer of the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF).
In London, I worked as Programme Coordinator for Mercury Musical Developments, and served on the steering committee of Musical Theatre Matters, a networking organization for directors and producers.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Before joining Bath Spa, I lectured on drama and musical theatre at the University of Greenwich and Goldsmiths College, London. While at BSU, I have taught modules in Theatre History, Tragedy and Dramaturgy and have introduced Musical Theatre to the Drama curriculum through two practice-based modules (taught jointly with the Music department) and a theoretical module that looks at cultural readings of the musical. I also led the creation of a Foundation Degree and BA top-up degree in Musical Theatre that is delivered at our partner college, Weston College in Weston-Super-Mare for which I am now the BSU link tutor for both programmes.
In 2010 I was awarded the Bath Spa University Teaching Fellowship for Excellence in Teaching.
RESEARCH PROFILE
BOOK
Lundskaer-Nielsen, M. (2008)" Directors and the New Musical Drama". London and New York:Palgrave Macmillan.
"Lundskaer-Nielsens book benefits from her wide-ranging insight not only into the repertory of Broadway, the West End and subsidized, non-profit and small-scale theatres, but also into the cultural mindset of British and American audiences. Her residency in both New York and London during the 1990s has enabled her to gain a privileged insight into developments in musical theatre, and her self-defined Anglo-American perspective (p. 1) gives a uniquely informed overview of the currency between West End and Broadway markets. It is informed by careful analysis of theatre reviews, always contextualized as cultural produces of the times, places and audiences they represent, and the transcripts of several interviews are included, giving access to the thoughts of directors and echoing the only other real book to have conducted this type of survey in the past, Lawrence Thelens The Show Makers (Routledge, 2002). Throughout, her tone is balanced, perceptive and informed, and the many sanguine comments she makes about British and American theatre, dominant discourses, cultural consumption and creativity within a commercial idiom are refreshing and thought-provoking."
Theatre Research International, 34.3
"The author is always careful to establish social and political contexts in which each of the highlighted directors works. She also includes potential influences on each of the directors. What she offers is research which shifts from typical scholarly focus on the roles of the composer, lyricist and book writer, towards giving the director due credit in contributing to the creation of musical theatre. She is also careful to give a brief synopsis of each musical that is discussed, which is helpful for those who are unfamiliar with them."
Studies in Musical Theatre (Journal)
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS:
"Musical Theatre in UK Higher Education"
'Teaching Musical Theatre in UK Higher Education'(Conference Convenor)
Bath Spa University, 27-28 March 2009
"Megamusicals and the new British musical theatre"
'Song Stage and Screen II: Interdisciplinary approaches to the musical stage'
University of Leeds, 24-26 March, 2007
"Afterlife: Nostalgia and Innovation in Musical Theatre Revivals"
'Song Stage and Screen: Interdisciplinary approaches to the musical stage'
University of Portsmouth, 28 April - 1 May, 2006
"Stephen Sondheim and the Notion of the Auteur" (Co-conference organiser)
'Stephen Sondheim: Collaborator and Auteur'
Goldsmiths College, 25-27 November, 2005
CURRENT SCHOLARSHIP
Forthcoming book chapter:
"The Prince-Sondheim Legacy" in Gordon, R. (ed) (2012) The Oxford Companion to Stephen Sondheim (Oxford University Press)
I am also currently engaged in a research project into the development infrastructure for new musicals in the UK.
Upcoming events:
Creative Music Technology Degree Show
Wed 23rd May 2012, 6:30pm
Commercial Music Degree Performance
Thu 24th May 2012, 8:00pm