“I believe it is an incredible honor, privilege, and obligation we have as theatre teachers to be able to play such a vital role in our students’ lives. We owe it to them to create spaces that are ethical and empathetic to tell powerful stories on stage and in our classrooms. We can tell challenging stories and take care of our students, audiences, and ourselves in the process.”
- Jimmy Chrismon, EdD
I am a theatre educator with 17 years of experience in North and South Carolina public schools. I currently teach full-time as an Associate Professor of Theatre Teacher Education at Illinois State University.
I was an adjunct theatre faculty member at Winthrop University and Central Piedmont Community College. I have acted, directed, designed, and produced professionally for 24 years. I received my Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theatre Education from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where I was a North Carolina Teaching Fellow. I received my Master of Education Degree in Theatre Education from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. I completed my Doctor of Education Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Gardner-Webb University. My dissertation was entitled “A Study of Theatre Teacher and School Administrator Perceptions of Traits, Characteristics, and Instructional Practices and Their Possible Role in Teacher Evaluation.”
I also worked for The Children’s Theatre of Charlotte and The Lake Norman School of the Arts. I currently reside in Bloomington, Illinois. I received the 2022 Johnny Saldana Outstanding Theatre Education Professor Award from the American Alliance for Theatre Education. I am the creator and host of THED Talks podcast with listeners in 98 countries. I have published articles in journals including Youth Theatre Journal, Drama Research, Pathways to Research in Education, World Federation of Education Associations, and The Journal of Educational Leadership in Action. I was selected to be a part of the first cohort in the Association of Mental Health Coordinators Certification program. Finally, my first book, Trauma-Informed Practices in 9-12 Theatre Education will be published in Summer 2025 with Routledge Press.
