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Kyle Thomas

Theatre

Lecturer

Education

Ph.D. in Theatre – University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

M.A. in Theatre – University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

B.A. in Musical Theatre – Ouachita University

Profile

Dr. Kyle A. Thomas is a theatre historian as well as a professional actor, director, and dramaturg. His research focuses on examining the historiography of narratives for drama and performance using dramaturgy as an analytical frame.

His work has appeared in several scholarly journals and anthologies, and he’s the chief editor for the journal, ROMARD: Research on Medieval and Renaissance Drama. In addition, Dr. Thomas is an ensemble member of Stage Left Theatre. His credits for dramaturgy include Cabaret and Oh What a Lovely War!, both at the University of Illinois.

His professional directing credits include productions for the Interlochen Center for the Arts, Lyric Theatre @ Illinois, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, among others. Dr. Thomas also maintains a profile as a professional actor with various roles at theatre companies in New Orleans and St. Louis. Dr. Thomas Dr. is also a regular contributor to the Discover Channel series Mysteries of the Abandoned: Hidden America.

Recent Publications

Books

  • The Play About the Antichrist (Ludus de Antichristo): A Dramaturgical Analysis, Historical Commentary, and Latin Edition with a New English Verse Translation. Translation by Carol Symes. Boston: Walter de Gruyter GmbH, 2023.

Book Chapters

  • “The Performing Arts and Their Audiences,” in A Cultural History of Leisure, Volume II: The Medieval Age (500-1450), Paul Milliman, ed. Peter Borsay and Jan Hein Furnée, anthology eds. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2024, 45-59.
  • “Monks at the World’s End: Performing an Eschatological Monasticism in the Twelfth-Century Ludus de Antichristo,” in Music in the Apocalyptic Mode, Word and Music Studies, vol. 20, Colin McAllister and Lorenzo DiTommaso, eds. Boston: Brill, 2023, 30-43.
  • “Laying Down the RUG: Andrew Lloyd Webber, the Really Useful Group, and Musical Theatre in a Global Economy,” in The Palgrave Handbook of Musical Theatre Producers, Laura MacDonald and William Everett, eds. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017, 325-332.

Book Reviews

  • Review of Immaculate Deception and Further Ribaldries: Yet Another Dozen Medieval French Farces in Modern English by Jody Enders, in Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies (forthcoming in 2025).
  • Review of Dramatic Justice: Trial by Theater in the Age of the French Revolution by Yann Robert, in Theatre History Studies, vol. 41 (2022): 203-205.
  • Review of Mind-Travelling and Voyage Drama in Early Modern England by David McInnis, in Theatre Survey, vol. 55, issue 3 (September 2014): 400-402.

Peer-Reviewed Articles 

  • “Playful Performance: Gameplay and Theatre in the Early Middle Ages,” in European Medieval Drama, vol. 26 (2022): 185-213.
  • “The Medieval Space: Early Medieval Documents as Stages,” in Theatre Survey, vol. 59, issue 1 (January 2018): 4-22.
  • “Profile: Nedjeljko Fabrio’s The Reformers,” in Ecumenica: Journal of Theatre and Performance vol. 5, issue 2 (Fall 2012): 79-82.

Performance Reviews