Matteo Pangallo

Dr. Matteo Pangallo is an Associate Professor of English at Virginia Commonwealth University's College of Humanities and Sciences. A former Junior Fellow in the Society of Fellows at Harvard University, he specializes in Shakespeare studies, early modern drama, theater history, and the history of the book.

His research examines the complex connections between plays and their historical contexts, with particular focus on performance practices, authorship, textual transmission, and audience reception. Dr. Pangallo's work often explores "the edges of theatrical and literary history" and how these peripheral areas transform our understanding of central narratives. His influential 2017 monograph Playwriting Playgoers in Shakespeare's Theater examines how working- and middle-class amateur dramatists translated their love of the stage into their own scripts, providing insight into how Shakespeare's audience experienced and understood theatrical performances.

Dr. Pangallo's research program includes an anticipated trilogy examining early modern theatrical culture, with Strange Company: Foreign Performers in Medieval and Early Modern England currently in progress and Theatrical Failure in Early Modern England planned. He is also co-editor of Teaching the History of the Book and Shakespeare's Audiences, and serves as founder and editor of the Database of English Manuscript Drama (DEManD), a comprehensive resource for early modern play manuscripts.

His scholarly contributions have been recognized with a "Best Essay in Theatre History" prize from Early Theatre, the 2011 Open Paper Competition prize from the Shakespeare Association of America, and a 2022 VCU College of Humanities and Sciences Seed Grant. Dr. Pangallo has also received research support from the Bibliographical Society of the United Kingdom, The Malone Society, and the Shakespeare Association of America.

Beyond his academic work, Dr. Pangallo is an active theatrical director and dramaturge who has worked with multiple theater companies, and he maintains interests in book collecting, gardening, and local government service.