Bio

Amy holds a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre from the University of Denver, a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Colorado Denver, and a PhD. in Theatre from the University of Colorado Boulder. Amy's first monograph, Disney Theatrical Productions: Producing Broadway the Disney Way, is available from Routledge. The book explores the production practices of the theatrical producing arm of the Walt Disney Corporation, dissecting how the theatre company functions as an independent producer under the umbrella of a multi-billion dollar entertainment corporation. Amy's second monograph, 20 Seasons, Broadway Musicals of the 21st Century, is also available from Routledge and catalogs, categorizes, and analyzes the 269 musicals that premiered on Broadway from the 2000-2001 season to the shutdown in 2020.
Amy’s research interests include contemporary theatre and musical theatre and its intersections with popular culture, digital media, and digital theatrical technologies. Amy also has expertise and interest in American theatre, theatre history, acting, directing, and design. Amy's scholarship has appeared in Theatre Topics, Studies in Musical Theatre, iBroadway: Musical Theatre in the Digital Age, and The Palgrave Handbook of Musical Theatre Producers among others.
In addition to her research, Amy has been teaching theatre since 2005. Amy is currently an Associate Professor of Theatre History in the School of Theatre at Oklahoma City University and the head of the BA in Theatre Innovation and Entreprenuership. The BATIE is a flexible, individualized degree program for aspiring theatre artists. Previously, Amy spent four years as an Assistant Professor of Theatre in Directing at the University of Northern Iowa. She also spent several years as the Education Programs Director for Inspire Creative, an arts organization in Parker, Colorado, where she developed a brand new theatre education program for students ages 5-18 in conjunction with the Town of Parker and the Parker Arts and Cultural Center. She has also taught children’s theatre for the Aurora Fox and the Colorado Shakespeare Festival.
From 2008-2013 Amy ran the nationally acclaimed drama program at Heritage High School in Littleton, Colorado. Under Amy’s direction, the department went from approximately fifty students to approximately two-hundred students. In Amy's time running the program, she produced five shows a season, and the program was named a BroadwayWorld.com School in the Spotlight. Amy’s former students went on to study performance, design, and technical theatre at some of the best theatre schools in the country and to work professionally all over the country including New York and Los Angeles.
In addition to her teaching and scholarship, Amy has been performing since she was five years old. The theatre bug bit her early when she played the Baker’s Wife in Stone Soup at the age of five. She also spent many years singing with the Colorado Children’s Chorale. some of Amy's recent roles include: Fastrada in Pippin and Mae in the Wild Party with Ignite Theatre, Ms. Andrew in Mary Poppins and Madame De La Grand Bouche in Beauty and the Beast with Inspire Creative and the PACE Center.
Amy is also an accomplished director. She has directed numerous productions in multiple markets across the US. Some of her favorite projects include the Colorado regional premiere of Spring Awakening (Ignite Theatre), Newsies (Theatre Cedar Rapids), Legacy of Light (University of Northern Iowa), Cabaret (University of Northern Iowa), She Kills Monsters (Oklahoma City University), and The Effect of Gamma Rays on Many in the Moon Marigolds (CU Boulder).
Additionally, Amy is a trained Intimacy Director. She has choreographed intimacy in numerous shows including Lizzie the Musical with Forgelight Theatreworks, The Prom, with Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, and School for Lies at Oklahoma City University. Amy has completed formal training with several organizations including Theatrical Intimacy Education. Amy brings her expertise in creating brave spaces in her classroom and rehearsal room to the staging of intimacy.
Amy’s research interests include contemporary theatre and musical theatre and its intersections with popular culture, digital media, and digital theatrical technologies. Amy also has expertise and interest in American theatre, theatre history, acting, directing, and design. Amy's scholarship has appeared in Theatre Topics, Studies in Musical Theatre, iBroadway: Musical Theatre in the Digital Age, and The Palgrave Handbook of Musical Theatre Producers among others.
In addition to her research, Amy has been teaching theatre since 2005. Amy is currently an Associate Professor of Theatre History in the School of Theatre at Oklahoma City University and the head of the BA in Theatre Innovation and Entreprenuership. The BATIE is a flexible, individualized degree program for aspiring theatre artists. Previously, Amy spent four years as an Assistant Professor of Theatre in Directing at the University of Northern Iowa. She also spent several years as the Education Programs Director for Inspire Creative, an arts organization in Parker, Colorado, where she developed a brand new theatre education program for students ages 5-18 in conjunction with the Town of Parker and the Parker Arts and Cultural Center. She has also taught children’s theatre for the Aurora Fox and the Colorado Shakespeare Festival.
From 2008-2013 Amy ran the nationally acclaimed drama program at Heritage High School in Littleton, Colorado. Under Amy’s direction, the department went from approximately fifty students to approximately two-hundred students. In Amy's time running the program, she produced five shows a season, and the program was named a BroadwayWorld.com School in the Spotlight. Amy’s former students went on to study performance, design, and technical theatre at some of the best theatre schools in the country and to work professionally all over the country including New York and Los Angeles.
In addition to her teaching and scholarship, Amy has been performing since she was five years old. The theatre bug bit her early when she played the Baker’s Wife in Stone Soup at the age of five. She also spent many years singing with the Colorado Children’s Chorale. some of Amy's recent roles include: Fastrada in Pippin and Mae in the Wild Party with Ignite Theatre, Ms. Andrew in Mary Poppins and Madame De La Grand Bouche in Beauty and the Beast with Inspire Creative and the PACE Center.
Amy is also an accomplished director. She has directed numerous productions in multiple markets across the US. Some of her favorite projects include the Colorado regional premiere of Spring Awakening (Ignite Theatre), Newsies (Theatre Cedar Rapids), Legacy of Light (University of Northern Iowa), Cabaret (University of Northern Iowa), She Kills Monsters (Oklahoma City University), and The Effect of Gamma Rays on Many in the Moon Marigolds (CU Boulder).
Additionally, Amy is a trained Intimacy Director. She has choreographed intimacy in numerous shows including Lizzie the Musical with Forgelight Theatreworks, The Prom, with Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, and School for Lies at Oklahoma City University. Amy has completed formal training with several organizations including Theatrical Intimacy Education. Amy brings her expertise in creating brave spaces in her classroom and rehearsal room to the staging of intimacy.