Bart Pitchford

Bart Pitchford is a PhD candidate in Performance as Public Practice and a Teaching Excellence Fellow for 2015-2016. His dissertation will examine the intersection of performance and citizenship in the Syrian refugee camp Zaatari, located in Mafraq, Jordan. On a broader scale, Bart is interested in locating diacritic markers of post-national citizenship in cultural performance. In addition to his academic pursuits, Bart is also engaged in developing a multimodal understanding of sound in the theatrical space that transcends the instrumentality of prevalent contemporary sound designs. Prior to entering the PPP program at University of Texas, Bart received his MA in Theatrical Sound Design and his BA in Theatre at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, LA. He also served as the Technical Director, Theatrical Facilities Manager, and Theatre Appreciation Instructor at Northwest Missouri State University; Sound Designer at Young Abe Lincoln Theatre in Indiana; and Technical Director of Foothills Theatre in Nevada City, CA. Bart comes to University of Texas most recently from Fayetteville, NC, where he was stationed as a soldier in the 4th Military Information Support Group in the U.S. Army. During his 8 years in service, Bart was deployed to: Baghdad, Iraq; Sana’a, Yemen; and Islamabad, Pakistan. His work in the military led Bart to write about Islamic representation in U.S. propaganda efforts during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Currently he is working on an article that examines militarization through the alternate reality game Ingress. The most important work in Bart’s life, however, is his role as a parent and spouse to an amazing and supportive family.