Title: Professor
Degrees: B.S. Northwestern University, M.F.A. University of Texas-Austin, Ph.D. University of Pittsburgh
Email: mmehler@allegheny.edu
Phone: (814) 332-2302
Office Location: VCCA 301A
Spring 2024 Office Hours:
Mondays 1:30-2:30pm
Tuesdays 1:30-2:30pm
Wednesdays 12:45-1:45pm (Arnold M117)
Thursdays 1:30-2:30pm
Fridays 10:00-10:45am
or by appointment
Michael Mehler has designed scenery and lighting for more than 25 years in Atlanta, Charleston, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Texas, and Virginia. Favorite designs include Remembrances (world premiere with Ballet Austin), The Importance of Being Earnest (Unseam’d Shakespeare Company), Waiting for Godot (Pitt Repertory Theatre), The Cherry Orchard and Civil War Christmas (Allegheny College Playshop Theatre), Mnemonic (Baylor University Theatre), and Romeo and Juliet (Virginia Shakespeare Festival).
Michael currently serves on the Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Committee for the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) and on the Education Committee for the Broadway Green Alliance (BGA). Past national leadership positions include Vice President of Programming and Vice President of Communications for USITT, and Design & Technology Focus Group Representative for the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE). At Allegheny College, he has co-chaired both its Council on Diversity and Equity (CoDE) and its Finance and Facilities Committee; he currently chairs its Faculty Council.
Michael has given more than thirty presentations on design & production history, theory, and pedagogy at regional and national conferences. Current research focuses on sustainable design and production, specifically investigating new materials and alternative practices that integrate long term planning and an environmental justice mindset within the creative process . He regularly works with Allegheny students and staff to discover and implement more sustainable practices for the Playshop Theatre.
Michael holds a BS in theatre from Northwestern University, an MFA from the University of Texas at Austin, and a PhD from the University of Pittsburgh. At Allegheny College, he teaches theatre design, stage management, sustainable production, and critical theory.