Melissa is a performance studies scholar, theatre writer, and arts administrator whose work bridges academic research, artistic practice, and cultural advocacy. She holds a Ph.D. in Theatre & Performance Studies from the University of Maryland – College Park. She currently writes for Washington City Paper and is a frequent contributor with HowlRound Theatre Commons. Published in Theatre Survey, Contemporary Theatre Review, The Eugene O’Neill Review, and elsewhere her scholarship centers modern theatre and addiction studies as well as queer theory and adaptation. (She also enjoys writing on other topics beyond theatre such as pop music, roller skating, and romantic comedies.) Melissa teaches at American University and UMD, and has worked in communications and marketing at various non-profit theatre companies in the New York, Philadelphia, and DC regions. She is also a dramaturg-by-training and works as a professional audio describer for live performance.