Bess Rowen

Bess Rowen is an Assistant Professor of Theatre at Villanova University. She is a theatre theorist, historian, and practitioner. Her work focuses on what she terms “affective stage directions,” which are stage directions written in ways that engage the physical and emotional responses of future theatre makers. Her first book, The Lines Between the Lines: How Stage Directions Affect Embodiment, was published by University of Michigan Press in October 2021. Her next book project focuses on representations of teenage girls on stage. She is a member of the Actors’ Equity Association and currently works as an Intimacy Choreographer.