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Chaya Gordon-Bland is an Associate Professor of Theatre at USD, with specialties in Movement, Shakespeare, Classical Styles, and Native American Theatre; she served as Founding and Executive Artistic Director of the South Dakota Shakespeare Festival from 2011-2022. Chaya's professional background includes work as an actor, teaching artist, fight director, director and dramaturg at theatre companies across the country including the American Shakespeare Center, Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, American Globe Theatre, Inwood Shakespeare Festival, Utah Shakespeare Festival, South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, and Native Voices at the Autry.
Mask, Movement, Shakespeare, Period Styles, Stage Combat, Contemporary Native American Theatre, Mindfulness
Shakespeare, Commedia dell'Arte, Period Styles, Masks in Performance, Stage Combat, Movement Pedagogy, Contemporary Native American Theatre
- MFA, Theatre Arts, University of Pittsburgh, 2008
- 2nd degree black belt, American Tae Kwondo Association
- Black Belt, American Tae Kwondo Academy
- Safe Zone Training, USD Office of Diversity
- Skills Proficiency in Unarmed Combat, Society of American Fight Directors
- Skills Proficiency in Rapier and Dagger, Society of American Fight Directors
- Skills Proficiency in Quarterstaff, Recommended Pass, Society of American Fight Directors
- Skills Proficiency in Knife, Recommended Pass, Society of American Fight Directors
- Skills Proficiency in Quarterstaff, Society of American Fight Directors
- Skills Proficiency in Broadsword, Society of American Fight Directors
- Recognized Actor/Combatant, Society of American Fight Directors
- Skills Proficiency in Rapier and Dagger, Society of American Fight Directors
- Skills Proficiency in Unarmed Combat, Society of American Fight Directors
- Track to Success, USD Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, (2012 - 2014)
- Project Grant, South Dakota Arts Council, (2023 - 2024)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, United Way of Vermillion, (2023 - 2023)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, City of Vermillion, (2023 - 2023)
- Project Grant, South Dakota Arts Council, (2023 - 2023)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, United Way of Vermillion, (2022 - 2022)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, Vermillion Chamber and Development Company, (2022 - 2022)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, City of Vermillion, (2022 - 2022)
- Discussion Grant: Othello, South Dakota Humanities Council, (2022 - 2022)
- American Rescue Plan Grant, South Dakota Arts Council, (2022 - 2022)
- Project Grant, South Dakota Arts Council, (2022 - 2022)
- Project Grant, South Dakota Arts Council, (2022 - 2022)
- Teaching and Learning Grant, USD's Center for Teaching and Learning, (2022 - 2022)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, United Way of Vermillion, (2021 - 2021)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, Vermillion Chamber and Development Company, (2021 - 2021)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, City of Vermillion, (2021 - 2021)
- Community Grant, Walmart Foundation, (2021 - 2021)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, Dakota Hospital Foundation, (2021 - 2021)
- Discussion Grant: Twelfth Night, South Dakota Humanities Council, (2021 - 2021)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, Gannett Foundation, (2021 - 2021)
- Project Grant, South Dakota Arts Council, (2021 - 2021)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, United Way of Vermillion, (2020 - 2020)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, City of Vermillion, (2020 - 2020)
- Project Grant, South Dakota Arts Council, (2020 - 2020)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, United Way of Vermillion, (2019 - 2019)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, Vermillion Chamber and Development Company, (2019 - 2019)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, City of Vermillion, (2019 - 2019)
- Community Grant, Walmart Foundation, (2019 - 2019)
- Project Grant, South Dakota Arts Council, (2019 - 2019)
- Teaching and Learning Grant, USD's Center for Teaching and Learning, (2019 - 2019)
- ArtWorks, National Endowment for the Arts, (2018 - 2019)
- Arts Opportunity Grant, South Dakota Arts Council, (2018 - 2019)
- Community-Based Learning and Research Grant, USD's Center for Academic and Global Engagement, (2018 - 2018)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, United Way of Vermillion, (2018 - 2018)
- Community Grant, Walmart Foundation, (2018 - 2018)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, Vermillion Chamber and Development Company, (2018 - 2018)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, City of Vermillion, (2018 - 2018)
- Teaching and Learning Grant, USD's Center for Teaching and Learning, (2018 - 2018)
- Project Grant, South Dakota Arts Council, (2018 - 2018)
- Professional Development Grant, South Dakota Arts Council, (2017 - 2018)
- Travel Grant, Shakespeare Theatre Association, (2017 - 2018)
- Community-Based Learning and Research Grant, USD's Center for Academic and Global Engagement, (2017 - 2017)
- Community Grant, Walmart Foundation, (2017 - 2017)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, Vermillion Chamber and Development Company, (2017 - 2017)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, United Way of Vermillion, (2017 - 2017)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, Sanford Vermillion, (2017 - 2017)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, Sanford Vermillion, (2017 - 2017)
- Project Grant, South Dakota Arts Council, (2017 - 2017)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, City of Vermillion, (2017 - 2017)
- Community Grant, Walmart Foundation, (2016 - 2016)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, Sanford Vermillion, (2016 - 2016)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, City of Vermillion, (2016 - 2016)
- Project Grant: South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, South Dakota Arts Council, (2016 - 2016)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, United Way, (2015 - 2016)
- Professional Development Grant, South Dakota Arts Council, (2015 - 2016)
- Community-Based Learning and Research Grant, USD's Center for Academic and Global Engagement, (2015 - 2015)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, Vermillion Chamber and Development Company, (2015 - 2015)
- Project Grant: South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, South Dakota Arts Council, (2015 - 2015)
- Professional Development Grant, South Dakota Arts Council, (2014 - 2015)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, Vermillion Chamber and Development Company, (2014 - 2014)
- Teaching Improvement Grant, USD's Center for Teaching and Learning, (2012 - 2013)
- Matching Dollars Challenge Grant, South Dakota Department of Tourism, (2012 - 2012)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, Vermillion Chamber and Development Company, (2012 - 2012)
- Project Grant: South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, South Dakota Arts Council, (2012 - 2012)
- Teaching Improvement Grant, USD Center for Teaching and Learning, (2011 - 2011)
- Teaching Improvement Grant, USD Center for Teaching and Learning, (2010 - 2010)
- Faculty Development Grant, USD's College of Fine Arts2023)
- Teaching & Learning Grant, USD's Center for Teaching & Learning2023)
- Conference Travel Grant, USD's College of Fine Arts2018)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, Vermillion Area Community Foundation2016)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, Vermillion Area Community Foundation2015)
- Project Grant: South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, South Dakota Arts Council2014)
- Conference Grant, Association of Theatre in Higher Education2013)
- Conference Travel Grant, USD's College of Fine Arts2013)
- South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, Dakota Hospital Foundation
Citations listed below are presented in a standardized, modified format for display purposes only. They do not necessarily reflect the preferred style and conventions of the faculty member or discipline.
- Gordon-Bland, Chaya. Book Review of "Physical Dramaturgy: Perspectives from the Field". In Stage Directors & Choreographers (SDC) Journal, pp. 52-53. Vol. Winter 2020 New York, NY: Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, 2020.
- Gordon-Bland, Chaya. Embodying Greek Period Style. In Physical Dramaturgy: Perspectives from the Field, editors Bowditch, Rachel; Casazza, Jeff; Thornton, Annette, pp. 15-27. London and New York: Routledge, 2018.
- Gordon-Bland, Chaya. Standing on the shoulders of Arlecchino: how variant philosophies regarding the ontology of Commedia dell’Arte support (or undermine) current pedagogical practices and trends. In Routledge Companion to Commedia dell'Arte, editors Judith Chaffee and Olly Crick, pp. 2-3. London: Routledge, 2014.
- Gordon-Bland, Chaya. Faculty Practice of Inclusive Excellencce., Editors Jesus Trevino, p. 5. Vol. October 2013 Vermillion, SD: University of South Dakota Office for Diversity, 2013.
- Person, Sam, Molina, Angie, Willis, Mike, and Gordon-Bland, Chaya. The Relish. In Please note that I am not an author on this publication, but rather then publication came about as the result of a playwriting workshop offered by the South Dakota Shakespeare Festival in 2012. , 8 pages. Cedar Rapids, IA: Heuer Publishing , 2012.
- Gordon-Bland, Chaya. Chekhov in the House of Atreus: Invoking Michael Chekhov in teaching Greek Period Style. In ATME News: History, Pedagogy and Process, editors Diana Moller-Marino & Ezra LeBank, pp. 26-29. Vol. 20, Iss. 2 Association of Theatre Movement Educators, 2012.
- Silver Award, Elements of Advertising, American Advertisting Federation, District 8, 2023
- Gold & Best of Class, Elements of Advertising, American Advertising Federation, Sioux Falls, 2023
- Best Direction of a Play, Runner-Up, BroadwayWorld Sioux Falls, 2023
- Best Ensemble Performance, Runner-up, BroadwayWorld Sioux Falls, 2023
- Best Lighting Design of a Play or Musical, Runner-Up, BroadwayWorld Sioux Falls, 2023
- Best New Play or Musical, BroadwayWorld Sioux Falls, 2023
- Best Performer in a Play, Runner-Up, BroadwayWorld Sioux Falls, 2023
- Best Play , BroadwayWorld Sioux Falls, 2023
- Best Supporting Performer in a Play , BroadwayWorld Sioux Falls, 2023
- Best Supporting Performer in a Play, Runner-Up, BroadwayWorld Sioux Falls, 2023
- Costume Exhibit, United States, Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design & Space, 2023
- Costume Parade Nomination , Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, Region V, 2023
- Best Production of a Play , BroadwayWorld Sioux Falls, 2022
- Best Production of a Play of the Decade, BroadwayWorld Sioux Falls, 2021
- Kennedy Center Citizen-Artist Fellowship, Finalist, Kennedy Center, 2020
- Von Marie Atchley Excellence in Playwriting Award, Native Voices at the Autry, 2019
- Professor of the Game, University of South Dakota, 2019
- Belbas Larson Award For Excellence in Teaching, University of South Dakota, 2018
- Champion of Inclusive Excellence Award, nominee, University of South Dakota, 2018
- Directing Commendation, American College Theatre Festival, Region V, 2018
- Ensemble Performance Commendation, American College Theatre Festival, Region V, 2018
- Invited Scene Showcase, nominee, American College Theatre Festival, Region V, 2017
- President's Award for Research Excellence, nominee, University of South Dakota, 2017
- Certificate of Merit, Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, Region V, 2017
- Po'okela Award , Hawaii State Theatre Council, 2016
- Certificate of Merit, Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, Region V, 2015
- Certificate of Merit, Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, Region V, 2015
- Showcase of Invited Scenes, Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, Region V, 2015
- Invited Scenes Showcase, Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region V, 2014
- Certificate of Merit, Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, Region V, 2014
- Best Local Production Award, Sioux City Journal, 2013
- American Prize for Opera Performance, 2nd place, 2013
- 2011-2012 Opera Production Competition, 3rd prize, National Opera Association, 2012
- Presidential Award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship nominee, University of South Dakota, 2012
- Best Local Theatre Production, Sioux City Journal, 2011
- Pulsar Award Winner, Lansing Michigan's City Pulse Newspaper, 2010
- Pulsar Award Nominee, Lansing Michigan's City Pulse Newspaper, 2010
- Learning Leader, Michigan State University Department of Residence Life, 2009
- Elizabeth Baranger Excellence in Teaching Award Nominee, University of Pittsburgh, 2008
- Best Graduate Actor in a Mainstage Production, University of Pittsburgh, 2007
- Governor's Award for Excellence in Education, State of Kentucky, 2003
- Doris Kershner Best Production Award, 1997
- Gordon-Bland, Chaya, “You’re Doing *What*?! – Making Virtual Theatre in the Time of the Pandemic”. Presented at the ATHE 2021 Annual Conference - RE:ATHE, online. (August 05, 2021)
- Gordon-Bland, Chaya, The Hunter Heartbeat Method: An Overview. Presented at the Of An Age and for all Time, Cincinatti, Ohio. (January 2018)
- Gordon-Bland, Chaya, Kelley, Bruce, Reeves, Deborah, Miller, Stephen, Sellars, Lamont, St. Vrain, Michelle, DeJager-Loftus, Danielle, and Burrow, David, Green Violins: USD's Campus-Wide Celebration of Yiddish Arts, Culture and History. (April 2017)
- Gordon-Bland, Chaya, Shakespeare and Cultural Exchange: Educational Outreach of the South Dakota Shakespeare Festival. Presented at the Shakespeare in South Dakota: a symposium exploring the state's Shakespearean past and present, USD. (March 19, 2016)
- Gordon-Bland, Chaya, Shakespeare and Native American Students: Discussion of Teaching. Presented at the Shakespeare in South Dakota: a symposium exploring the state's Shakespearean past and present, USD. (March 19, 2016)
- Gordon-Bland, Chaya, Shakespeare Live: South Dakota Shakespeare Festival. Presented at the Shakespeare in South Dakota: a symposium exploring the state's Shakespearean past and present, USD. (March 18, 2016)
- , Gordon-Bland, Chaya, , , Murray, Jason, and Brandt, Bruce, Presented at the First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare, The National Music Museum. (March 2016)
- Gordon-Bland, Chaya, Paving the Pathway to Play: the Neutral Mask in Actor Training. Presented at the Association of Theatre in Higher Education, Orlando, Florida. (August 2013)
- Gordon-Bland, Chaya, Chekhov in the House of Atreus: Invoking Michael Chekhov in teaching Greek Period Style. Presented at the Performance as/is Civic Engagement, Washington D.C.. (August 04, 2012)
- Gordon-Bland, Chaya, Standing on the shoulders of Arlecchino: how variant philosophies regarding the ontology of Commedia dell’Arte support (or undermine) current pedagogical practices and trends. Presented at the Passing on the Commedia dell’Arte Tradition: Past and Present Training and Pedagogical Approaches, Toronto, Canada. (February 2012)
- Gordon-Bland, Chaya, and Hilliard III, Ronald, Still Burning: Investigating Race, Class and Education in and Beyond Post-Riot Detroit through Michigan State University’s Production of Palmer Park. Presented at the Detroit: Global City, Detroit, Michigan. (September 2011)
