Rebecca Free
Associate ProfessorTheatre
Rebecca Free is Associate Professor in Theatre and holds the Hans Froelicher Professorship in the Arts at Goucher College, where she teaches theatre history and dramatic literature, acting, and voice and movement. She co-directs the French Theatre program, which incorporates an Intensive Course Abroad and in addition involves theatre productions in French at Goucher, performed either by Goucher students or French guest artists, or both together. In another producing area, Becky proudly served for many years as the faculty supervisor of Playworks, the Theatre program's annual offering of student-written and student-produced plays. Becky’s professional acting experience focused mainly on Shakespearean theatre and touring children's theatre (and in one case, touring Shakespearean children’s theatre). Since coming to Goucher, she has concentrated as an artist primarily on directing, alongside her work as a movement artist, involving theatrical choreography, creation of original movement-based compositions, and training and practice with Chorégraphie Antique, Goucher’s dance history ensemble. Her scholarship in theatre history and performance analysis has addressed late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century France, as well as site-specific performance practice in the early 21st century.
Research, Scholarship, Creative Work in Progress
“Making Time for Place: The Temporal Emplacement of Site-Specific Theatre in Marseille” (article, co-authored with Mark Ingram)
Exhibits or Performances
2016 Single Carrot Theatre
Movement Director: Midlife, by Ben Hoover (new play)
2016 Single Carrot Theatre
Choreographer: Something Like Jazz Music, by Genevieve de Mahy (new play)
2014-15 Akimbo Festival
Co-creator and performer: performance installations for a festival of site-specific dance in Baltimore City. Produced under the company name “Voluntary Breathing.” Co-creator in 2014 was Emily Hall. Co-creators in 2015 were Emily Hall and Allison Campbell.
Conference Papers & Panel Participation
“Mapping Heritage Through Site-Specific Performance in Marseille.” Presented at the annual meeting of the International Federation for Theatre Research, Stockholm, 2016.
“’Co-construction’ and Public Space in Marseille: What is Performed by the Theatre of the Sea’s Neighborhood Activism.” Co-authored and –presented with Mark Ingram. Presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Theatre Research, Baltimore, 2014.
“Embodying the social: examining stratification and audience in participatory works.” Presented at the annual meeting of the International Federation for Theatre Research, Warwick, 2014.
Other Professional or Scholarly Activity
2014-16 Guest Teacher, Peabody Conservatory (Baltimore). Taught Baroque Dance, as part of a course on Stage Movement for Singers
Representative recent directing work at Goucher College
Trois petits tours (by Michel Tremblay) (performed in French) (2015)
Les Pieds des anges (by Evelyne de la Chenelière) (performed in French) (2013)
Peter Pan (James Barrie, adapted by Trevor Nunn and John Caird) (2013)