My name is Michael DeWhatley, and I use he/him pronouns. I am currently a graduate student in Performance as Public Practice at The University of Texas at Austin and the President of the Theatre Advisory Council for Trinity Street Players. A native of Asheville, N.C., I have a B.A. in Theatre with departmental honors from Wake Forest University. My research is focused on the role of community and locality on American regional theatres, as well as the governance of those theatres and related arts organizations. I am particularly interested in large cast and large scale community oriented performances in American regional theatres and their larger impacts on institutional health and focus. Before coming to Austin, I spent six years as the associate production manager at Actors Theatre of Louisville, and I've had a variety of experiences in production and artistic management at Kentucky Shakespeare, Berkshire Theatre Group, Lexington Children's Theatre and the Austin Film Festival. I previously served on the board of Theatre[502], and CenterStage at the Jewish Community Center in Louisville, KY. I am a contributor to HowlRound Theatre Commons, www.theatreartlife.com, and Theatre Design & Technology. I am also the creator, producer and writer of a podcast called One Thousand Words: examining the world art has made.