Eric S. Kildow

Eric S. Kildow is a director, dramaturg, and Alexander Technique practitioner.  He earned his MFA in Performing Arts at the Savannah College of Art and Design, MA in Theatre from Texas A&M University- Commerce, and BA’s in Theatre and Political Theory from Michigan State University.

Eric has worked with theatres all over the United States, including Michigan, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, and Ohio.  His work has also been seen internationally in Germany and the Czech Republic.  He is a member of the Lincoln Center Director’s Lab, and an Artistic Associate of the London UK-based Loitering With Intent Theatre Company as well as the Raleigh NC Burning Coal Theatre Company.

Eric splits his time between freelance directing and his teaching responsibilities.  He takes a deeply collaborative approach, assuming that "we as a collective are smarter than [he] will ever be."  As a production & consultant dramaturg, Eric works to bring the company and the audience into communion with the story the playwright is trying to tell.  This includes research, analysis, and generally functioning as the production's spare brain.  Working in both educational and professional settings, he strives to live up to the famous quip, "Dramaturg?  Isn't the German for smart ass?" with humility, joy, and an exploratory theatrical spirit.

Eric’s writing has appeared in Howlround: Journal of the Theatre Commons, The Texas Theatre Journal, and ExChange: The Journal of Alexander Technique International.  He has also presented at numerous conferences, from meetings of Chesapeake Bay Alexander Studies, Mid-American Theatre Conference, and Southeastern Theatre Conference.

Prior to heading up the theatre program at Kent State University at Trumbull, Eric chaired the drama department at Coastal Carolina Community College and taught at Armstrong Atlantic State University.