Dr. Christopher "Chris" Berchild

Dr. Chris Berchild is the chairperson of the Department of Theater where he teaches Theater History and Theory, Play Analysis, Directing, Dramaturgy, and Projection and Sound Design.  Chris received his BA in Theatre from Claremont McKenna College (Pomona College Department of Theatre and Dance), his MA in Irish Studies (emphasis in Irish drama) from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, and his PhD in Drama and Theatre from the University of California San Diego.  Chris has worked in theatre for a number of years as a director, a stage manager, a designer, a theatre educator, and in many other areas.  He has served as Artistic Director for the Claremont School of Theatre Arts at Pomona College in California for four years, edited and serves on the Advisory Board for TheatreForum International Theatre Journal, has worked for DeafWest Theatre for the Deaf in Los Angeles, and is the general editor for Peter Lang’s Irish Studies series.  Chris has published extensively on Irish and Czech drama and theatre as well as on contemporary performance.  His other writings can be found in TheatreForum International Theatre Journal.  

Berchild is also the director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Media Technology in the Arts (ICMTA), which is housed in the ISU Department of Theater.  Berchild is also artistic director of Crossroads Repertory Theatre, where he has directed numerous productions, including RENT (2015), Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (2014), The Woman in Black (2013), A Midsummer NIght's Dream (2012), Frankenstein (2010), Much Ado About Nothing (2009), Macbeth (2008), You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (2006), and The Spitfire Grill (2005).  He is currently working on a book project on new media design for live performance and Shakespearean scenography in Asia and Eastern Europe.