Dr. Chad Thomas
Department Chair of English,
English
Associate Professor,
English
Biography
Dr. Chad Thomas is the Chair of English and an Associate Professor of Shakespeare and dramatic literature at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He is the co-founder and co-artistic director of Huntsville Shakespeare and a former director of the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program. His teaching encompasses English, Theatre, and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, reflecting his interdisciplinary approach to literature and performance.
As both a scholar and practitioner, Dr. Thomas explores the intersections of gender, spectatorship, and performance, with a particular focus on cross-gender casting in Shakespeare’s works. His research has appeared in Shakespeare Bulletin, Comparative Drama, Theatre Topics, 1650-1850, and the Cambridge University Press collection Shakespeare on the Campus Stage. In addition to his scholarship, he has professional credits as a producer, director, actor, and dramaturge, dedicated to using innovative staging to challenge cultural narratives and expand how audiences experience Shakespeare.
Curriculum Vitae
Personal Website
Education
- Ph.D., English, University of Michigan, 2009
- M.A., English, University of Michigan, 2003
- M.A., English, University of North Texas, 2002
- M.S., Theater, University of North Texas, 2000
- B.F.A., Theater, University of New Mexico
Credits
- Director: Macbeth. By William Shakespeare. Huntsville Shakespeare. 2025.
- Director: Romeo and Juliet. By William Shakespeare. Huntsville Shakespeare. 2024.
- Director: A Midsummer Night’s Dream. By William Shakespeare. Huntsville Shakespeare. 2023.
- Director: As You Like It. By William Shakespeare. Huntsville Shakespeare. 2022.
- Director: Othello. By William Shakespeare. Huntsville Shakespeare. 2021.
- Director: Hamlet. By William Shakespeare. Huntsville Shakespeare. 2020 and 2021.
- Acting: Prospero. The Tempest. By William Shakespeare. Huntsville Shakespeare. 2019.
- Acting: Macbeth. Macbeth. By William Shakespeare. Rocket City Shakespeare. 2016.
- Acting: Touchstone. As You Like It. By William Shakespeare. Rocket City Shakespeare. 2014.
- Acting: Baptista. The Taming of the Shrew. By William Shakespeare. Rocket City Shakespeare. 2014.
Affiliations
- American Society for Theatre Research
- Association for Theatre in Higher Education
- Modern Language Association
- Renaissance Society of America
- Shakespeare Association of America
Expertise
- Shakespeare and Early Modern Drama
- Gender and Sexuality Studies
- Theater and Performance Studies
- British, American, and World Drama
- English Renaissance Literature
Recent Publications
“Queer Shakespeare at the Citizen’s Theatre.” Shakespeare Bulletin 33.2 (2015): 245-271.
“Queering Shakespeare in the American South.” Shakespeare on the Campus Stage: College and University Performance. Ed. Andrew James Hartley. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014. 216-231.
“Antonio’s (Happy) Ending: Queer Closure in All-Male Twelfth Night.” Comparative Drama 48.3 (2014): 221-240.
“On Queering Twelfth Night.” Theatre Topics 20.2 (2010): 101-111.
“Negotiating the Interregnum: The Political Drama of Davenant and Tatham.” 1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Period 10 (2004): 225-244.