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W. Jerome Stevenson

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Biography

W. Jerome Stevenson joins the ³ûÖ­ÊÓƵ administrative team after more than 25 years as an actor, director, singer, coach, and administrator in professional theatre. Mr. Stevenson is the former Producing Artistic Director of the Pollard Theatre Company in Guthrie, Oklahoma where he served for twenty seasons. He is the recipient of the Oklahoma Governor’s Arts Award having directed over 50 professional and collegiate productions including "The Threepenny Opera," Jose Rivera’s "Marisol" and LyaNisha Gonzalez’s "Black Girl, Interrupted" at ³ûÖ­ÊÓƵ.

Stevenson received his BA from Langston University before embarking on a career which focused almost exclusively on working as an actor and director for regional theatre. Directing credits include "American Idiot," "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," "La Cage aux Folles," "The Diary of Anne Frank," "Crowns: A Gospel Musical," "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time," "Death of a Salesman," "The Elephant Man," and "In The Heights." In addition to his work as a director, Stevenson has enjoyed a notable career as an actor of stage and screen. Stevenson is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association and some of his favorite regional theatre credits include Troy Maxson in "Fences," Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in "The Mountaintop" (which earned him a featured article in American Theatre Magazine), Prospero in "The Tempest," The Narrator in "Passing Strange" and Ebeneezer Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol" (which garnered national and international attention in the New York Times and the BBC).

In 2020, he returned to academia to bring his unique perspective to classrooms and collegiate productions which have included Langston University, University of Central Oklahoma, and others. He is a contributing author of the book, Fifty Key Stage Musicals, where he was asked to write about the significance of the Pulitzer-prize winning musical, Hamilton. An artist with a vested interest in improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in the American theatre, Stevenson has appeared on numerous radio shows, panel-discussions, and podcasts to advocate for these ideas as well as the fundamental importance of the art of storytelling to the human experience.