Michael DeWhatley holds a Ph.D. in Performance as Public Practice and a graduate portfolio certificate in Arts and Cultural Management and Entrepreneurship from the University of Texas at Austin. Michael served for six years as the associate production manager at Actors Theatre of Louisville, and has an extensive career in arts administration, including work at Zilker Botanical Garden, Kentucky Shakespeare, Berkshire Theatre Group, Lexington Children's Theatre, and the Austin Film Festival.  His research and insights have been published in The American Journal of Arts Management, American Theatre, Theatre Topics, Etudes, Howlround Theatre Commons, Theatre Design and Technology, and Artivate: A Journal of Entrepreneurship in the Arts.

Cultural Pursuits

Michael currently serves on the boards of Glass Half Full Theatre Company and Trinity Street Players in Austin, Texas.

Hidden Skills

Michael can juggle! While not hugely beneficial to arts research, Michael's toddler has found my “jungle-ing” to be a key component of our daycare drop-offs.

Hometown

Asheville, NC 

Secretly Wants To Be

In another life, Michael would love to be dropped down in a submersible to study deep ocean life. Oceanauts unite!