Will Shuler

I am an Associate Professor in Drama and Theatre Studies. My research and teaching is focused in the areas of performance pedagogies, teaching and performance-making with new technologies (AR, VR, MR, VP, AI), and Queer theatre/Greek tragedy. I have recently submitted a manuscript for my actor-training book An Actor’s Guide to New Technologies, contracted with Bloomsbury. Recent articles I have written include topics such as understanding Greek tragedy through the lens of queer desirous gaze in my Theatre Research International article "The Athenian Male Gayze: Desire and Spectatorship in Ancient Greek Tragedy" and about queer casting practices through the lens of string theory, multiple universe theory, and queer temporality for Studies in Theatre and Performance titled "A Queery of Everything: Queer-Conscious Casting and Multiverse Dramaturgy". I have also published book chapters on higher-education role-immersion games in relation to the pedagogic theories of contemporary French philosopher, Jacques Rancière "The Emancipated Educator: Chance, Will, and Equality in Higher Education Role-Immersion Pedagogies," Rancière and Performance (Rowman and Littlefield, 2021) and the educative functions of ancient Greek choral training qua military training "The Greek Tragic Chorus and Its Training for War: Movement, Music and Harmony in Theatrical and Military Performance," War and Theatrical Innovation (Palgrave, 2017).  

I have received funding to develop several educational projects around new technologies in teaching and performance-making. My work on the funded development of a web-based Augmented Reality (AR) toolkit for distance teaching and performance-making (ARStorydecks) resulted in being shortlisted for the prestigious Times Higher Education Innovative Teacher of the Year Award (2022). I shared some of my findings in an article for THE “Augmented Reality in Teaching: Key Challenges and How to Overcome Them” (2022). I was also the lead on a funded project to develop an actor-training toolkit for onboarding on Volume LED Virtual Production film sets (2022). I regularly contribute theatre reviews to The Conversation.

My teaching interests include storytelling and acting with new technologies, theatrical film adaptations, screen acting, aesthetic philosophy, games and play, Greek theatre, queer theory, and dramatic structure. I am interested in hearing from students researching areas relating to performance/performative pedagogies, AI/AR/VR/MR teaching and/or performance-making, and/or Queer theatre (including Greek tragedy).