Neil Blackadder

Associate Professor and Chair of Theatre

General Interests
"Most recently I've been translating contemporary German-language drama. My translation of Swiss playwright Lukas Bärfuss' The Sexual Neuroses of our Parents has been produced in London and New York; other play translations have been published in journals, and I directed Rebekka Kricheldorf's Rosa and Blanca with students at Knox in 2008. Meanwhile, I continue to pursue research as a theatre historian, particlarly in the area addressed by my 2003 book - the composition and behavior of theatre audiences."

Years at Knox: 1998 to present

Education
Ph.D., Comparative Literature, 1995, Princeton University.
M.A., Comparative Literature, 1989, University of California Los Angeles.
B.A., German and French, 1986, University of London, Goldsmiths' College.

Teaching Interests
European theatre, dramaturgy, theatre history, playwriting

Recent Recognition
Grants
Fellowship, Banff International Literary Translation Centre, 2008.

U.S. Department of Education Undergraduate International Education and Foreign Language Program travel grant, awarded through Knox College, 2002.

Recent Accomplishments
Publications
"A Fundamental Resistance": An Interview with Neil Blackadder by Beth Gallagher, LMDA Review (The Newsletter of the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas) 18.2 (2008).

Review of Waves devised by Katie Mitchell after Virginia Woolf's novel, and Martin Crimp's Attempts on her Life directed by Katie Mitchell, Theatre Journal 60.1 (2008).

Translator (from German). The Sexual Neuroses of our Parents by Lukas Bärfuss. Nick Hern Books, 2007.

Translator (from French). "Rue Laferrière" by Jacques Réda. Two Lines, 2007.

Translator (from German). "Inspired by Football" by Ralf Rothmann. Stand, 2007.

Performing Opposition: Modern Theater and the Scandalized Audience. Oxford: Praeger Publishers, 2003.

Presentations
Participation in panel "Translating the Erotic: A Challenge Beyond the Literary"; also coordinator, staged reading of Slawomir Mrozek's Out at Sea, translated by Bill Johnston, American Literary Translators Association conference, Minneapolis, MN, October 2008.

Participant, workshop at the European University Institute: Studying Historical Audiences' Reception. Florence, June 2007.

Productions
Translator (from German): The Sexual Neuroses of our Parents by Lukas Bärfuss, Electric Pear Productions at The Wild Project, New York, November, 2008.

Director: Tartuffe by Molière, trans. Richard Wilbur, Knox College, 2008.

Director and translator: Rosa and Blanca by Rebekka Krichedorf, Knox College, 2008.

Translator (from German). The Sexual Neuroses of our Parents by Lukas Bärfuss, Gate Theatre, London, 2007.

Director. Nora by Ingmar Bergman, adapted from Henrik Ibsen's A Doll House, Knox College, 2006.

Campus & Community Involvement
London Director, "London & Florence: Arts in Context," ACM program.
Judge, American Literary Translators Association.

What Students Say
"Neil always makes time outside of class to help students with everything from play revisions to monologue coaching. He has a great ability to offer guidance in such a way that allows his students to own their ideas while pushing them to further develop and explore. I always leave conversations with Neil feeling that he genuinely listens and considers what I have to say. He truly cares about his students and has a subtle sense of humor that makes class discussions interesting. A demanding professor in the best sense of the word--Neil makes his students want to challenge themselves."
-Mikah Berky, Theatre Major and Creative Writing Minor

Contact
309-341-7502
nblackad@knox.edu