PRE•AMBLES

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.

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.

Vanessa Corredera is Associate Professor in and Chair of the Department of English at Andrews University. Her scholarship focuses on the intersections between Shakespeare, race and representation in contemporary popular culture, adaptations/appropriations and performance. Corredera is the author of Reanimating Shakespeare’s Othello in Post-Racial America, and her work has appeared in numerous journals and collections, including Literature Compass, Borrowers and Lenders: The Journal of Shakespeare and Appropriation, and Shakespeare Quarterly. Beyond her scholarly work, Corredera also serves on the Faculty Senate, Honors Council, and the Institutional Diversity and Inclusion Action Council. Corredera holds a PhD in English from Northwestern University with an emphasis in Renaissance literature.

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.

Deron S. Williams (he/him) is a director, dramaturg, and Assistant Professor of Theatre at Loyola University Chicago, where he also serves as a Dramaturgy Mentor and Affiliate Faculty in the Institute for Racial Justice.

A scholar of African American theatre, directing, and performance, Williams is co-editor of Contemporary Black Theatre & Performance (Methuen). His writing appears in The Journal of American Drama and Theatre and Continuum, and his current book projects focus on underrepresented directors in theatre. His directing and dramaturgy credits include work at Marriott Theatre, Timeline Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Hartford Stage, the Kennedy Center, and multiple universities. He specializes in new plays, documentary theatre, and works by Black artists.

Williams has held fellowships from SSRC, the North Star Collective, and others. He’s presented nationally and internationally and remains active in service and advocacy roles within the field. He holds a Ph.D. from Texas Tech, an M.A. from Eastern Michigan, and a B.A. from Albany State. Before Loyola, he taught at Eastern Connecticut, Middle Tennessee State, and Albany State.