MEGAN GRAY LEDERMAN
Scholarship
My scholarship focuses on the dramaturgies of self presentation and audience identity; shaped by ethical context and community, as performance. I examine how storytellers fashion meaning across theatrical, communal, and digital spaces. This work includes an investigation of the performative spectator role, its roots in social-cultural histories, and the use of dramaturgical practice as research.
Upcoming Scholarship
Dramaturgies of the Real World
I am to be featured in the forthcoming publication Dramaturgies of the Real World.
My chapter, The Dramaturgy of Dating Apps will be featured in the section: "Dramaturging Storytelling". This collection is co-edited by Daniel Smith and Karen Jean Martinson and is under contract to be released Fall 2026.
Notes from the Lobby: Staging American Identity Through Lobby Displays
I will be presenting in the Practice / Production Symposium at the Mid America Theatre Conference 2026 in Philadelphia, USA in March 2026
Conference Presentations
Performance of Self Across the Digital Small Worlds of Platforms, Stories & Profiles
Self-Fashioning Working Group, American Society for Theatre Research, 2025, Live Synchronous Online and Denver, Colorado, USA
​
Using the Infrastructure of Higher Education for New Play Development
Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas 2025 Conference, San Diego, USA
​
Collaborative Dance Dramaturgy: Leveraging Dramaturgy to Focus on the “and” in Theatre and Dance Departments
Live Synchronous Roundtable, Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas 2024 Digital Conference
​
TAM: Team Appreciation and Morale - Building Trust In Your Teams
Full Educational Session, 2023 NODA Association for Orientation, Transition, and Retention in Higher Education, Region VIII Regional Conference, Richmond, VA, USA
Select Academic & Educational Research
Right Here, Right Now: A Dramaturgical Ethic of Community, Context and Engagement
Indiana University Department of Theatre and Dance, MFA Dramaturgy Thesis, Defended November 2025
Multiperspectival Narration and Autothanatography in “As I Lay Dying” by William Faulkner and “Sing, Unburied, Sing” by Jesmyn Ward
George Mason University BA in English Capstone Thesis, Explores effectiveness as well as similarities and differences in narration techniques in American Southern Gothic literature. Conducted research through analysis of literary work and the scholarly work of American Southern Gothic authors and scholars.
A History of the Substantial Impact of Theatergoers’ Theater
George Mason University BA in Theater Thesis Assignment, Curated for a thesis course in Advanced Theater History
Contemporary Theater History: The Story of The Troupe of American College Players and The Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre
Co-contributor to this semester long research project. Conducted research through interviews and found archival information