The first Black male to graduate with a PhD in Theatre (for Youth and Community) from ASU, to Dontá, the performance of equity and inclusion is what matters most. In fact, he employs performance/theatre as vehicles for advocating for equity and justice inside and outside institutions of higher education. He currently serves as the Dean's Fellow and Coordinator for the Culture and Access department in the Herberger Institute for the Design and the Arts (HIDA). As Coordinator, Dontá works with students, staff, faculty, and administrators in order to help advance the Dean's goal of making HIDA a more equitable place for all. Dontá is a justice visionary who seeks to instigate equitable changes for all people -- especially those from underrepresented groups. Additionally, his service work includes working as a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) curriculum developer for Crystal Clear Results--a DEI consulting, training, and coaching company who work is recognized both nationally and internationally.
Dontá’s research interests include:
- Developing equity coalitions that centers Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) at Predominantly White Institutions
- Decentering whiteness in theatre education
- Representation and liberation of BIPOC students in institutions of higher education
- Black theatre and the Black church
- Theatre as a tool for activism
- The performativity of the American Civil Rights Movement
With 21 years of experience as a playwright/theatre educator and 14 years as an ordained minister, Dontá has developed and taught unique theatre courses within communities, seminaries, universities, K-12 schools, and churches.
Dontá is a co-founder and co-artistic director of Sleeveless Acts, a Phoenix-based theatre company that joins communities to co-create theatre with radical imagination.