Benjamin Gonzales

Benjamin Gonzales serves as Assistant Professor in the Theatre and Musical Theatre department within Viterbo University's Conservatory for the Performing Arts, teaching theatre history and literature. Previously, he held instructional roles at the University of Central Missouri (lighting design/theatre technology) and Washington State University (theatrical subjects including playwriting and media literacy).

His academic credentials include:

• MFA in Theatre Arts (Dramatic Writing) from University of Idaho
• Master's in Teaching from Washington State University
• Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts and Drama from Washington State University

A theatre generalist specializing in verbatim plays that amplify marginalized student narratives, Gonzales maintains active creative practice across playwriting, directing, and technical theatre domains. His research integrates social justice frameworks with performance creation, particularly through community-engaged projects documenting student experiences. Professional expertise spans lighting/set/sound design, technical direction, production management, and media literacy instruction.

Analysis of his recent creative output (2013-2020) reveals consistent focus on verbatim theatre methodologies across the "Performance Project" and "Las Memorias" series. These works demonstrate evolving techniques for documenting marginalized voices through collaborative student-centered processes, with increasing structural complexity in narrative framing and community participation from 2013 through 2020.

Gonzales actively shapes national theatre education as current national vice-chair of KCACTF's National Playwriting Program, previously serving as RED (Representation, Equity, Diversity) Coordinator. He directly supports pedagogy through creation of original scenes and short plays for student scene work, bridging creative practice with classroom instruction.