ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
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In addition to her experience as a theatre director and artistic director, JEANNIE MARLIN WOODS has had a long career as a scholar, actor, arts educator, and arts administrator. She earned a B.A. in Theatre from the University of Idaho, an M.A. in Theatre from Hunter College (New York), and the M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Theatre from the City University of New York. In 2003, Jeannie completed the Management and Leadership in Education (MLE) Program of the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Institute for Higher Education. She was Vice President for Professional Development of the Association of Theatre in Higher Education 2003-2007.
For thirty years, Jeannie taught a variety of theatre courses at Winthrop University and at Western Illinois University (where she is Professor Emerita of Theatre). Her teaching includes undergraduate and graduate courses in acting and directing, theatre history, theatre theory, theatre careers, auditioning, dramatic literature and script analysis.
Jeannie has also taught theatre internationally. In 1998-99, she was a Senior Fulbright Lecturer at the Taipei National University of the Arts in Taiwan, where she taught graduate courses in acting, directing, and theatre history and directed a production of David Ives' comedy, All in the Timing. During her Fulbright year, she was a guest lecturer at the American Cultural Institute in Taipei and throughout the country. She is on the Fulbright Specialist roster 2022-2025 and was a guest artist at National Taiwan Normal University in 2023. Jeannie was inducted into the Fulbright Taiwan Hall of Fame in 2019.
Jeannie was a guest artist at the Shanghai Theatre Academy in 2005 and 2006. In 2006 she also created an original presentation with students at the Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakech and staged it for the Morocco in Western Art conference, presented by the Morocco Fulbright Association in Marrakech. Jeannie taught theatre courses on the SS Universe Explorer with the Semester at Sea program.
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As a full professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Western Illinois University from 2006 to 2018, Jeannie also was Department Chair 2006-2008. She was awarded the William E. Brattain Distinguished Service Award for Leadership in the Development of Arts at the university and within the Macomb community. At WIU She was faculty liaison for the Honors Program and for Study Abroad. She became Professor Emerita in 2018.
Jeannie served 17 years as a professor of theatre in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Winthrop University. Jeannie was named Winthrop's Outstanding Junior Professor of 1995 and was awarded multiple Presidential Citations for her teaching and creative achievements.. She is a former Director of Winthrop's Office for Effective Teaching. She was Department Chair and Associate Dean for the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Winthrop University over six years.
Jeannie is the author of THEATRE TO CHANGE MEN’S SOULS—THE ARTISTRY OF ADRIAN HALL and MAUREEN STAPLETON: A BIO-BIBLIOGRAPHY She is co-translator of the English script of the Chinese contemporary comedy, THE BRIDE AND HER DOUBLE by Chi Mei Wang, published in a bilingual edition in Taiwan. She has published articles on theatre and the teaching of theatre.
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She has been a theatre reviewer for Berkshire Onstage since 2021 and currently teaches theatre courses for the Berkshire Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.