Department of Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance

Joshua Robinson holds a Ph.D. from the Indiana University Department of Theatre, Drama and Contemporary Dance. He holds a master’s degree from Columbia University in New York City and an undergraduate degree from Kean University in New Jersey. Mr. Robinson's research focuses on American musical theatre history and its interactions with US social and cultural history. His current research encompasses the emergence of the "art" musical in New York City non-profit theatre in the 1980s to the present, primarily focusing on the work of musical theatre writer Michael John LaChiusa. His work has earned him several honors, including the IU Faculty Memorial Award, The Hubert C. Heffner Award in Theatre History, a Research Fellowship at the New York Library for the Performing Arts, as well as an invitation as participant on the Bruce Kirle Emerging Scholars Panel in Musical Theatre at the Association for Theatre in Higher Education conference as well as the KCACTF/ATHE award for Innovation in Teaching. His publications can be see in Theatre Topics and Studies in Musical Theatre. In addition to his scholarship, Mr. Robinson continues to pursue a career as a director, playwright, and actor. His work as director has included productions in NYC and the surrounding are as as well as in the educational realm, including productions of Hello Again, See What I Wanna See, and Heathers The Musical here at Indiana University. As a playwright and lyricist, his work has been featured at the New York Musical Theatre Festival, New York Theatre Barn, and at the Harlem Theatre. His play Valentine, inspired by the 2008 murder of a transgender middle school student, won the inaugural New Horizons award for contributions to the LGBT community.