Dassia N. Posner

Dassia N. Posner is Associate Professor of Theatre and Slavic Languages and Literatures at Northwestern University, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in directing, dramaturgy, and theatre history.

Education

• PhD, Drama, Tufts University
• MA, Drama, Tufts University
• BA, Theatre and Russian, Bates College

Research Interests

Posner is a theatre historian whose work centers on experimental Russian and Soviet theatre practice, the history of stage directing, production dramaturgy, and puppetry history and performance. She explores how avant-garde artists re-imagined theatrical form and how puppetry and material performance intersect with broader cultural and political discourses. Her current book project investigates the Kamerny Theatre’s innovations and global influence during the Soviet 1920s–30s.

Creative & Editorial Work

Recent creative scholarship includes translating Three Sisters for film and serving as production dramaturg at Steppenwolf Theatre Company on Seagull, Grand Concourse, Russian Transport, and Three Sisters. She has performed as a puppeteer with companies across the United States and co-edited key anthologies on puppetry and performance.

Selected Awards & Honors

• 2022 ASTR Translation Prize (Winner)
• 2020 Karl Rosengren Faculty Mentoring Award
• 2019 Prague Quadrennial Best Publication Shortlist
• 2017 TLA Freedley Memorial Award Finalist
• NEH Fellowship, ACLS Fellowship, APS Franklin Grant
• Multiple Northwestern teaching and mentoring honors

Fellowships & Grants

Posner’s research has been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, American Council of Learned Societies, American Philosophical Society, Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, and Northwestern’s Alice Kaplan Institute for the Humanities, among others.