PRE•AMBLES

Stephen Bennett, Ph.D., is a scholar, professor, and special education teacher at CPS’s Eli Whitney Elementary who has taught at Roosevelt University, New York University, and the University of Utah. His dissertation, Reading Elizabeth: Menopause and the Cult of the Virgin Queen, explores how and why representations of Elizabeth I changed at her menopause and at her death. During a nearly 20-year career teaching literature and writing at the college level, he became increasingly fascinated with how a K-12 education prepares students for college, which lead him to his current position where he also mentors new teachers. Stephen earned his Ph. D. in English and American Literature at New York University, where he was a Dean’s Dissertation Fellow.

Northwestern University Ph.D. student Deon Custard is a Chicago-born, raised, and based sound designer & scholar of 17th century drama. Deon is currently developing a dissertation project focused on how language, politics, and economic pressures shift performance styles in Shakespeare. Other current work includes crafting syllabi that highlights the 17th century canon beyond Shakespeare’s writing, learning and developing new audience-engaging survey methods, and writing on the sonic performances of basketball games. Beyond the 1600s, Deon has been practicing his bass again and is passionate about comics (stand-up and the books), heavy metal, hip-hop, and listening to the film score before he sees the movie. Recent design credits include Villette (Lookingglass w/ Brandon Reed); From the Mississippi Delta (Lifeline); Dance Nation, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Marisol (Northwestern University); Everybody (Santa Fe Playhouse). Deon completed BAs in English and Theatre (Directing) at Bates College in Lewiston, ME before beginning his Ph.D. at Northwestern in the fall of 2021.

Regina Buccola, Ph. D., is a Professor of English and Interim Dean of the College of Humanities, Education, and Social Sciences (CHESS) at Roosevelt University in Chicago. She specializes in Shakespeare, Non-Shakespeare early modern drama, and Women’s and Gender Studies. She has published several books on early modern British drama and culture, most recently Haunting History Onstage: Shakespeare in the USA and Canada for Cambridge Elements, as editor of A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Critical Guide and co-editor of Chicago Shakespeare Theater: Suiting the Action to the Word. Recent journal publications include Shakespeare Bulletin, Medieval and Renaissance Drama in England, and Borrowers and Lenders: The Journal of Shakespeare and Appropriation. She serves as scholar in residence at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Her poetry has appeared in Women’s Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal and in Elia Magazine. In July 2022, a piece of her creative non-fiction appeared in Glacial Hills Review.