(she/her/hers)
Lecturer of Undergraduate Studies
Jennifer Lale is a puppeteer, playwright, and educator originally from Cleveland, Ohio. She spent a season with Madcap Productions Puppet Theatre, touring to eight states performing puppet shows at schools, libraries, and community centers. She also was the education and outreach associate at La Jolla Playhouse, overseeing student matinees, public outreach, and the Young Performers’ Workshop for grades two through twelve.
Her recent creative work has included directing the chamber opera The Clever Artifice of Harriet and Margaret, which won an honorable mention from the National Opera Association, playing Brooke in Other Desert Cities at the Springfield Contemporary Theatre, as well as creating a shadow puppet sequence there for Hir by Taylor Mac. She is a member of UNIMA-USA and the Puppeteers of America, where she served as a member of the board of directors and the treasurer.
She holds a B.A. in theatre and cinema from Denison University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in theatre history, literature, and criticism from the Ohio State University. She has worked as an instructor at Missouri State University and as an associate lecturer at University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point, as well as teaching adjunct at University of Redlands, Palomar College, and San Diego Mesa College.
“And the Soul Shall Dance Exercise.” Chirico, Miriam and Kelly Younger, editors. How to Teach a Play: Essential Exercises for Popular Plays. Bloomsbury Press, 2020.
“Approaching Opera from a Theatrical Perspective: A Case Study.” Opera Journal. June 2018.
“Ashes: A Smoldering Start” Puppetry Journal. Fall 2017.
“Dinosaurs and the Evolution of the Jim Henson Company.” The Wider Worlds of Jim Henson. Ed. Jennifer Garlen and Anissa Graham. North Carolina: McFarland, 2012.
“The Persistence of the Marionette and its Contemporary Presence.” Puppetry International. Spring and Summer 2010.
“From Muppetry to Puppetry.” Kermit Culture: Critical Perspectives on Jim Henson’s Muppets. Ed. Jennifer Garlen and Anissa Graham. North Carolina: McFarland, 2009.
The College of Arts