About me
Matt Omasta is Professor, Chair, and Artistic Director of the Department of Theatre. Prior to this position, he served as Associate Dean for Research and Creative Endeavors in the Caine College of the Arts at Utah State University. His research explores how theatre and drama impact human experience, including how people's engagement with a variety of forms of performance may produce tangible change in their lives, actions, attitudes, values, and beliefs. His scholarship and creative work particularly focus on applied, community-engaged, and pedagogical theatre and drama; theatre for young audiences; and spectatorship and audience studies. Dr. Omasta's publications include the books Play, Performance, and Identity (Routledge), Playwriting and Young Audiences (Intellect), Impacting Theatre Audiences: Methods for Studying Change (Routledge), and Qualitative Research: Analyzing Life (SAGE), along with numerous articles in journals including Research in Drama Education, Youth Theatre Journal, Arts Education Policy Review, and Theatre Topics. He is recipient of the Johnny Saldana's Outstanding Professor of Theatre Education Award from the American Alliance for Theatre and Education (AATE), the Founders Award from the Educational Research Association; the Lin Wright Special Recognition Award and the Research Award from AATE; as well as USU/CCA's Teacher of the Year, Researcher/Creative Artist of the Year, Mentor of the Year, and Outstanding Undergraduate Research Mentor Awards.
