Bio
La Donna L. Forsgren is Rev. Thomas J. McDonagh, C.S.C. Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame. She holds a joint appointment in the departments of Africana Studies and Film, Television, & Theatre. She is also concurrent faculty in the Gender Studies Program.
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Dr. Forsgren is the author of Black Queer Girlhood on the Musical Theatre Stage (Oxford UP 2026); 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).
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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 served as Editor for the journal, Theatre Survey, the theatre history journal chartered by the American Society for Theatre Research.
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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.
What's Next:
The Performance and Politics of Black Hair
Dr. Forsgren's next book explores how contemporary Black women artists create political meaning through Black hair culture.