Robert Caisley
Chair of Theatre Arts, Professor of Theatre, Head of Dramatic Writing
Shoup 204
208-885-0272
Theatre Arts Department
果冻传媒麻豆社
P.O. Box 2008
Moscow, Idaho 83844-2008
Robert Caisley is chair of Theatre Arts and a professor of theatre and head of the Dramatic Writing Program at the 果冻传媒麻豆社. Born in Rotherham, England, his plays have been performed across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom and translated into Italian and French. In 2014 he was nominated for a Bay Area Critics Circle Award for Best Original Script for his play "Happy," which won the 2014 SOTA Award for Best Play, the 2014 BroadwayWorld – New Jersey Award for Best Play, and was a 2012 Finalist for both the prestigious Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center’s New Play Conference and the Woodward/Newman Award for Drama. He premiered two new plays in 2016 —"The Open Hand" at Clarence Brown Theatre in Knoxville, TN and "A Masterpiece of Comic … Timing" at B Street Theatre in Sacramento, CA. Other plays include: "Lucky Me" (New Jersey Repertory Theatre, Curious Theatre, Riverside Theatre, Oregon Contemporary Theatre, The Modern Theatre, Theatre Tallahassee); "Happy" (New Theatre, Montana Repertory Theatre, 6th Street Playhouse, New Jersey Repertory, Redtwist Theatre, Laboratory Theatre of Florida, Wasatch Theatre Company); and "The Lake" (Walnut Street Theatre, Mill Mountain Theatre.)
- M.F.A., Illinois State University
- B.A., Eastern Illinois University
Courses
- THE 404 Theatre & Films of the Holocaust
- THE 504 Theatre & Films of the Holocaust
- THE 515 MFA Jury/Portfolio Review
- THE 526 MFA Playwriting Workshop
- THE 595 Professional Off-campus Studio
- THE 596 MFA Exit Project
Robert Caisley is a professor of theatre and head of the Dramatic Writing Program at the 果冻传媒麻豆社. In 2015, the Idaho Commission on the Arts awarded him a Fellowship in the Performing Arts. That same year, he received the 果冻传媒麻豆社 Excellence in Research and Creativity Award. He served as Idaho Repertory Theatre’s Artistic Director from 2001-2004 and has worked in the entertainment industry as a Creative Consultant for The History Channel, Triage Entertainment and for North by Northwest Productions, Netter Digital Entertainment and New Wave Entertainment. He served as a script reader for Mahagonny Pictures and Native Voices at the Autry Museum of the American West in Los Angeles. Caisley has been a guest speaker at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, the University of the Arts, San Diego State University, Marquette University, Washington State University, the University of Maryland, Northern Illinois University, Bowling Green State University, Denison University, University of Nevada — Las Vegas, the University of Wisconsin — Madison, Howard University, University of Nebraska — Lincoln, Bradley University, Cal State — San Bernardino, Rockford College and American University in Washington, D.C.
- New play development
- Native American playwrights
- Contemporary American and European drama
- Theatre and film of the holocaust
- Devised theatre
- 2017, "The Open Hand," Phoenix Theatre, Indianapolis, IN
- 2017, "& Juliet," New Jersey Repertory Company, NJ
- 2017, "Lucky Me," Theatre Tallahassee, Tallahassee, FL
- 2017, "Lucky Me," Vana Baskini Teater, Estonia
- 2016, "Front," Barbara Barrett Theatre, St. John's Newfoundland
- 2016, "Lucky Me," Star Hall, Finedon, Northamptonshire, UK
- 2016, "Tartuffe," (adaptation) American Stage, St. Petersburg, FL
- 2016, "Lucky Me," Red Barn Summer Theatre, Frankfort, IN
- 2016, "A Masterpiece of...Comic Timing," B Street Theatre, Sacremento, CA
- 2016, "The Open Hand," Clarence Brown Theatre, Knowville, TN
- 2016, "Happy," Nomadic Theatre, Washington, D.C.
- 2016, "& Juliet," New Jersey Repertory Company, Long Branch, NJ
- 2015, "Lucky Me," Modern Theatre, Spokane
- 2015, "Lucky Me," Oregon Contemporary Theatre, Eugene, OR
- 2015, "Lucky Me," Riverside Theatre, Iowa City, IA
- 2015, "Happy," Laboratory Theatre of Florida, Ft. Myers, FL
- 2015, "Happy," Hollywood Fringe Festival, CA
- 2009, “Kissing,” New Theatre, Coral Gables, FL.
- 2008, “Kissing,” Theatre Artists Studio, Phoenix, AZ.
- 2008, “Push,” World Premiere, Penn State University School of Theatre, PA.
- 2008, “Letters to an Alien,” Gretna Players Drama Club, Gretna, VA.
- 2007, “Santa Fe,” SLAMBoston, Another Country Productions & Company One, Boston, MA.
- 2007, “Kissing,” Bailiwick Theatre 20th Annual Directors Festival, Chicago, IL.
- 2007, “Santa Fe,” Kokopelli Theatre Co., Last Frontier Theatre Conference, Valdez, AK.
- 2006, “Letters to an Alien,” Greenville College, Greenville, IL.
- 2006, “The Apology,” Walking The Wire Festival, Riverside Theatre, Iowa.
- 2006, “Santa Fe,” The Appetite Theatre, Chicago, IL.
- 2006, “Santa Fe,” Madhouse Theatre Company at the Adrienne Theatre, Philadelphia, PA.
- 2005, “Letters to an Alien,” Young Actors’ Company, Saskatchewan Regional Drama Festival and on tour, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
- 2005, “The Lake,” Mill Mountain Theatre, Norfolk Southern Festival of New Works, Roanoke, VA.
- 2005, “Santa Fe,” The Theatre Studio, Inc. Playtime Series, New York, NY.
- 2005, “Santa Fe,” Hudson/StageWorks, One-Act Play Festival, Hudson, NY.
- 2005, “Three Wishes,” Heartland Theatre Company, 10-Minute Play Festival, Bloomington, IL.
- 2005, “The Apology,” The Cardboard Box Collaborative, Philadelphia, PA.
- 2009, “Trio With Flute” by Richard Warren, Theatre Artists Studio, Phoenix, AZ.
- 2008, “Tartuffe” by Moliere, 果冻传媒麻豆社
- 2008, New Works Festival (“Trio With Flute” by Richard Warren), 果冻传媒麻豆社
- 2007, “Much Ado About Nothing” by William Shakespeare, Idaho Repertory Theatre
- 2007, “The Clean House” by Sarah Ruhl, 果冻传媒麻豆社
- 2007, “New Works Festival” (“Myth of Maria The Virgin” by Ulrike Rosser), 果冻传媒麻豆社
- 2006, “Lend me a Tenor” by Ken Ludwig, Idaho Repertory Theatre
- 2005, “HUSH: Interview with America” by James Still, Idaho Repertory Theatre
- 2005, “The Underpants” by Steve Martin, Idaho Repertory Theatre
- 2004, “The Rivals” by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Idaho Repertory Theatre
- “Western Mentality,” MIZNA: A Journal of Arab-American Literature, 2008
- “Best Women’s Monologues, Book II,” Edited by Gerald Lee Ratfliff (SUNY Potsdam), Meriwether Publishing, Ltd, Colorado Springs, CO, 2008. Includes monologues from “Kissing.”
- “Santa Fe,” Oregon Literary Review, Vol. 1, No. 1, January 2006.
- Article, “On Universality: Storytelling in the Courtroom,” Rhode Island Association for Justice News, January 2008
- Playwright Residency, B Street Theatre, Sacramento, CA, 2016
- Featured Playwright, Seven Devils Playwrights Conference, McCall, ID, 2015
- Guest Artist, Last Frontier Theatre Conference, Valdez, AK, 2008
- Guest Artist, Great Plains Theatre Conference, Omaha, NE, 2008
- Guest Playwright, Penn State University, School of Theatre, 2006-08
- Guest Playwright, New Works Festival, Phoenix Theatre, Phoenix, AZ, 2007
- Guest Artist, Last Frontier Theatre Conference, Valdez, AK, 2007
- Play Lab Participant, Last Frontier Theatre Conference, Valdez, AK, 2006
- Guest Playwright, Norfolk Southern Festival of New Works, Mill Mountain Theatre, Roanoke, VA, 2005
- Guest Playwright, Norfolk Southern Festival of New Works, Mill Mountain Theatre, Roanoke, VA, 2004