Patricia Ybarra

Patricia Ybarra is the W. Duncan MacMillan Family Professor of the Humanities at Brown University, affiliated with the Theatre Arts and Performance Studies department. Her research focuses on theatre historiography, Mexican and Latino/a performance, avant-garde theatre, and critical race studies. She holds a PhD from the University of Minnesota (2002), an MA from Minnesota (1999), and a BA from Columbia University (1994). Her work bridges historical analysis with contemporary performance practices, particularly examining colonial and postcolonial dynamics in theatre.

• Education:
  • PhD, Theatre Studies, University of Minnesota, 2002
  • MA, Theatre Studies, University of Minnesota, 1999
  • BA, Columbia University, 1994

Her research interests include:

• Key Areas: Theatre historiography, Mexican theatre, Latino/a performance, avant-garde practices
• Themes: Neoliberalism’s impact on performance, critical race theory, dramaturgy, political theatre

Recent publications analyze Latino/a dramaturgy, Young Jean Lee’s experimental theatre, and the intersection of neoliberalism and global performance. She has received prestigious grants including the Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship (2000–2001) and Cogut Humanities Fellowship (2006).

Teaching includes courses on global theatre history, dramaturgy, and performance historiography. She previously served as President of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education and directed Richard Foreman's Ontological-Hysteric Theatre.