Victoria N LaFave

  • PhD Student

Victoria LaFave (she/her) is a dramaturg, educator, and scholar originally from Little Rock, Arkansas. Victoria is a PhD Candidate in Theatre and Performance Studies at the University of Pittsburgh and is pursuing a graduate certificate in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies. Her research explores twentieth-century U.S. popular performance, focusing on queer studies, affect, and national memory-making. Her dissertation, “Queering American(a): Embodiment, Affect, and Performing Archives,” is supported by the University of Pittsburgh Humanities Center Fellowship and the Houghton Library Visiting Fellowship for the 2023-2024 academic year. 

Her practical work is in Production Dramaturgy and Education and Community Outreach. From her work with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Education Department to the University of Pittsburgh’s August Wilson Archive, she aims to empower students and teachers to engage with the legacies of our local artistic communities in the classroom and beyond. 

Victoria has presented her research at national theatre conferences, including the American Society for Theatre Research and the Association for Theater in Higher Education.  She currently serves as the Graduate Student Representative for the American Theatre and Drama Society.

Research Interests

Queer Studies; Affect; Archives; Cultural Memory; Twentieth Century Popular Performance

Education & Training

  • BA in English, minor in Secondary Education, University of Central Arkansas - 2017
  • MA in English, Auburn University - 2019
  • Anti-Racist Theatre: A Foundational Course with Nicole Brewer - ATHE 2020

CV