Theater and New Dance, Assistant Professor

Job Details•Pomona, CA

28d•Onsite

About The Position

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position in the Department of Theatre & New Dance. Cal Poly Pomona is a polytechnic university known for its integrative experiential learning education and learn-by-doing approach. The university is situated on a large, historic campus and is committed to diversity, social mobility, and serving a diverse student body, including being a Hispanic-Serving Institution and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution. The College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences (CLASS) offers a vibrant, hands-on experience, and the Department of Theatre & New Dance provides a Bachelor of Arts degree with tracks in acting, design/management/technical production, dance, and theatre education. The department typically produces four fully-produced theatrical productions, two dance concerts, and two work-in-development showings annually. The department values innovation, collaboration, community, global awareness, and social responsibility, aiming to develop artists who can imagine and apply their skills to cultivate the world they want to live in.

Requirements

M.F.A. in Production Management, Stage Management, or a closely related field; or other equivalent terminal degree conferred by the start date of the position.
Previous professional production management experience.
Demonstrated potential for excellence in university-level teaching in stage management and other areas depending on department need and candidate expertise.
Demonstrated potential to proactively mentor students with a broad range of experience, theatre knowledge, backgrounds, and socio-economic status in an undergraduate B.A. theatre program setting.
Demonstrated experience coordinating with permanent professional theatrical production staff.
An active and ongoing professional practice.
Capacity to connect students to an expansive network of job opportunities.
Strength in proactive team leadership.
Adaptability to evolving timelines and resource availability.
Familiarity with one or more adjacent fields, such as dance, opera, circus, themed entertainment, film, TV, event management, etc., and demonstrated potential to mentor students interested in one or more of these areas.
Collegiality and amiability among a diverse range of students and colleagues.
Ability to lead in a variety of production models (e.g., Devised theatre, LORT model).

Nice To Haves

Two or more years of university-level teaching experience.
Active participation in national professional organizations, such as USITT and/or PMF, and/or Union membership such as AEA.
Secondary area of expertise and ability to mentor in additional areas such as sound or video design.
Experience supervising student shop crews and run crews.

Responsibilities

Serve as Production Manager for the Department’s production season.
Mentor and supervise student stage managers.
Teach stage management courses, production practicum courses, and other courses based on department need and faculty expertise.
Work closely with faculty, staff, and guest artists.
Propose and re-line annual production budget allocations.
Obtain show rights and distribute scripts.
Oversee production spending and petty cash distribution.
Schedule all production dates and deadlines in keeping with instructional needs.
Maintain all production calendars.
Schedule spaces involved in production and instruction.
Lead all production meetings and technical rehearsals for theatre and dance productions.
Supervise and mentor student stage managers, designers, and technicians.
Enforce deadlines and facilitate communication between production teams and staff.
Make, track, and grade production crew assignments for shop crews and show crews.
Honor and enforce safe practices in rehearsals and performances, including facilitating the hiring of intimacy directors and fight choreographers as needed and actively modeling community guidelines.
Support creative problem-solving around budget and resources, including non-traditional materials, rentals, and community resources.
Initiate and implement improvements to production systems as needed.
Participate in university, college, and department-level service and governance.
Provide academic advising and mentorship.
Engage in committee work.
Prepare annual and ongoing budget proposals and grants.
Maintain a portfolio of scholarly and/or creative activities aligning with Department Reappointment, Tenure, and Promotion criteria.
Demonstrate commitment to serving a highly diverse student body, reflecting the Cal Poly Pomona service area and the educational equity goals of the University, College, Department, and programs.