Dr. Colleen Rua is Assistant Professor in the School of Theatre and Dance. Her research interests include Latinx Theatre/Contemporary Puerto Rican Theatre, Immersive Theatre, the American Musical, and Theatre for Youth. Her recently published book, Performance, Trauma, and Puerto Rico in Musical Theatre puts commercial Broadway representations of Puerto Rico in conversation with community-engaged practice on the island, and considers the role of theatre artists as performers of care as they mobilize joy and belonging in response to disaster. Other recent publications include "Defiant Joy and Care-Based Solidarity in Puerto Rican Theatre,” and “Transforming Latinx representation in American musical theatre.” Dr. Rua’s recent directing credits include: The Day the Music Came Back, Yemaya’s Belly, Marisol, ...And Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi, Conference of the Birds, Assassins, Pilgrims of the Night and the family-centered immersive experiences An Awfully Big Adventure, Alice in Wonderland and The Skin of Our Teeth, as well as staged readings of Nosotras que los queremos tanto by Hugo Salcedo, Lomas de poleo by Edeberto Galindo, and Red Bike and In the Time of the Butterflies by Caridad Svich. Dr. Rua holds a PhD in Drama from Tufts University and an MA in Theatre Education from Emerson College.