Bio
La Donna L. Forsgren is Rev. Thomas J. McDonagh, C.S.C. Associate Professor in the Department of Film, Television, and Theatre; concurrent faculty in the Gender Studies Program; and affiliate faculty in the Department of Africana Studies at the University of Notre Dame.
She serves as Associate Director for the Initiative on Race and Resilience (College of Arts and Letters, University of Notre Dame).
​
Dr. Forsgren is the author of Sistuhs in the Struggle: An Oral History of the Black Arts Movement Theatre and Performance (NUP 2020), a finalist for the Association for Theatre in Higher Education's 2021 Outstanding Book Award, and In Search of Our Warrior Mothers: Women Dramatists of the Black Arts Movement (NUP 2018).
​
She was awarded the American Society for Theatre Research's Oscar G. Brockett Essay Prize for her article, “The Wiz Redux; or Why Queer Black Feminist Spectatorship and Politically Engaged Popular Entertainment Continue to Matter" Theatre Survey 60.3 (2019): 325-354.
She serves as Editor for the journal, Theatre Survey.
​
Fun fact: she is a die-hard fan of the reality television show, Survivor. Her dream is to be a contestant on the show and WIN.
Upcoming Project
Black Girlhood on the Musical Theatre Stage
-
Dr. Forsgren's next book explores black girlhood and spectatorship in contemporary musical theatre.