The International Institute for the Science and Art of Cinema (IIFSA) is deeply honored to announce that Dr. Kristen Wright has been elected as an IIFSA Fellow. This distinction highly recognizes Dr. Wright's outstanding contributions to the field of drama research.

Dr. Kristen Wright is currently an Assistant Professor of Drama Studies in the Department of Drama at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, with a remarkable academic background. She earned her PhD and MA in African Studies from Cornell University, an MA in African American Studies from Columbia University, and a BA in Drama Studies and Political Science from Yale University. This interdisciplinary educational background has laid a solid foundation for her unique and in-depth research perspective.

Her research primarily focuses on the intersections of African American theatre (encompassing a long history from the 19th century to the present), Black performance studies, and critical theory. In these fields, Dr. Wright has achieved fruitful results. Her articles and reviews have been published in many renowned academic journals, including Theatre Topics, Black Perspectives, The Gale Researcher's American Literature, Gotham: A Blog for Scholars of New York City History, and Texas Theatre Journal. Additionally, one of her works is forthcoming in The Routledge Anthology of Women's Theatre Theory and Dramatic Criticism. These publications not only reflect the depth and breadth of her academic research but also advance scholarly dialogues in related fields.

Dr. Kristen Wright has served as a general member of the Performance Studies Focus Group of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) since 2017, actively engaging in academic exchanges and discussions in the field and contributing to the development of performance studies. Meanwhile, she serves as a representative of the Committee on New Paradigms in Graduate Education for the Graduate Core Group of the American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR), playing a proactive role in the innovation and development of graduate education and providing important support for cultivating the next generation of theatre research talents.

Dr. Kristen Wright also has a rich record of teaching and research experience in her academic career. She was a Fellow of the Faculty Diversity Alliance in the English Department at Mount Holyoke College and previously a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Humanities Scholars Program at Cornell University. In teaching, her outstanding performance has been widely recognized, and she received the 2018 Knight Institute Information Literacy Award at Cornell University for her teaching achievements. Her paper I Claim to Have Killed My Mother: Adrienne Kennedy's Electra and Orestes*, Aeschylus'* Oresteia and the Question of Justice won the 2016 Marvin Carlson Best Student Paper Award in Drama and Performance from the Department of Performance and Media Arts at Cornell University.

Notably, Dr. Kristen Wright is not only an excellent scholar but also a talented playwright and dramaturg. Her works such as Applecore, Miss Annie, Shirts (Civilization), Jamal from the Empire, White Girl’s Jodeci, Pop Cycle, and Light That Illuminates the World have all been part of Cornell University’s Ten-Minute Play Festival and Spring Writing Literary Festival. Her full-length play The Pursuit of Goose Lake was recently produced by the Cherry Arts Theatre (Ithaca, New York) and developed as part of the Studio Theatre’s 2022 Spring Intensive (New York, New York). Her one-act plays also demonstrate unique artistic charm.

The International Institute for the Science and Art of Cinema (IIFSA) is extremely excited to welcome Dr. Kristen Wright into our Fellowship. Her expertise, innovative thinking, and passion for theatre research will undoubtedly inject new vitality into the Institute, driving our research and development in the field of cinema science and art to new heights. We look forward to working hand in hand with Dr. Kristen Wright to explore the infinite possibilities of theatre and film art. Once again, we extend our warmest congratulations to Dr. Kristen Wright!