Associate Professor
Chair, Department of Theatre Arts
Education
- Ph.D., University of Utah
- M.F.A., University of Southern Mississippi
- B.A., California State University at Fullerton
Contact Info
Biography
Dr. Michael Kirkland, Associate Professor of Theatre and Chair of the Department of Theatre Arts, has appeared on stages from New York to Los Angeles and is an internationally recognized teacher of stage combat and professional fight director. Dr. Kirkland achieved Certified Teacher status with the Society of American Fight Directors [SAFD] in 1992. He has taught all over the U.S. and at such prestigious U.K. institutions as the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, in London, and the Birmingham School of Acting in Birmingham, England. He has choreographed stage fights at such well-respected professional theatres as the Houston Shakespeare Festival, the Houston Shaw Festival, New Stage Theatre, Park City Shakespeare Festival, PA Stage Company, the Capitol Theatre, Virginia Music Theatre, and dozens of universities and colleges around the U.S. Dr. Kirkland serves as the on-site coordinator for The Virginia Beach BASH, an SAFD sanctioned regional stage combat workshop in residence at Regent University. The “BASH” features internationally recognized teaching staff from the U.S., the U.K., and draws students from around the nation. He has been a member of Actors Equity Association [AEA] since 1978 and has appeared in local, regional, and nationally broadcast television programs as well as in feature films. He has appeared with such well-respected actors as Jennifer Jason Leigh and Sam Elliot. An award winning director, he is also a published author in the areas of Theatre History, Theory, Criticism and Literature as well as in the discipline of Stage Combat. He has published articles on swashbuckling actor, Michael York as well as fight director/sword master, Richard Ryan (Troy, 2004; The Last Legion, 2007; Stardust, 2007, and The Golden Compass, 2007). He is currently working on articles on actor Christopher Lee and fight director William Hobbs (The Three Musketeers, 1974; The Four Musketeers, 1975). Dr. Kirkland’s book, Stage Combat Resource Materials: A Selected and Annotated Bibliography, is published by Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (Praeger Publishers) and is available through Amazon.com and other retail outlets.
Originally from Southern California, Dr. Kirkland lives in Chesapeake, VA with his actress/choreographer wife, CJ (also a Southern Californian—and his high school sweetheart), and his two daughters (Alexis and Brenna), both performers. (Sigh). He also shares his residence with “Charlie” (Charlemagne L’ Roi de Pomme-bois) a precocious and loveable golden retriever; “Jazz,” an intellectually challenged (but very fast) Flat-Coated Retriever mix; and “Maggie” (Queen Magdala) a very aloof, very furry, and generally cranky, Smokey Persian cat. An avid reader of history (as opposed to fiction) Dr. Kirkland is also an addictive movie watcher. He has been known to watch ridiculously bad movies, reportedly “Because they can teach you valuable lessons on what NOT to do; besides I never know when a friend is going to show up in one.” Dr. Kirkland’s family currently attends Atlantic Shores Baptist Church, in Virginia Beach.
Courses Taught
- THE 710 Acting 1: The Meisner Approach
- THE 711 Acting 2: The Meisner Apporach Applied
- THE 720 Voice and Movement: The Lassac Integrated Approach
- THE 740 Acting 3: Acting Shakespeare
- THE 741 Acting 4: Period and Styles
- THE 712 Unarmed Stage Combat
- THE 721 Rapier and Dagger for the Stage
- THE 742 Weapons of the Theatre
- THE 760 Special Topics: Musical Theatre Workshop
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