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Bradley Griffin Faculty Profile

Bradley Griffin

Divisional Dean and Professor of Theatre
Fine Arts Division, Seaver College
CAC 209
310.506.7443

Biography

Bradley W. Griffin is the Divisional Dean of Fine Arts at Seaver College. He joined the Pepperdine Theatre faculty in 2005, and he has served as the Coordinator of the Theatre Program since 2010. Dr. Griffin received his Ph.D. in Performance as Public Practice from the University of Texas at Austin. He has published performance reviews in Theatre Journal, and from 2008 to 2016, he served as the Performance Reviews Editor of Ecumenica Journal, a peer-reviewed journal of performance and spirituality. In 2018, he co-authored the essay "Theatre Assessment for Teaching and Learning," which appeared in New Directions in Teaching Theatre Arts, published by Palgrave Macmillan. His work on the revivalists Charles G. Finney and Aimee Semple McPherson was included in the edited volume, Communication and the Global Landscape of Faith, published by Lexington Books in 2016. Dr. Griffin is active in program assessment at Pepperdine, and he serves on the Assessment Subcommittee of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education's Professional Development Committee. During the 2013-2014 academic year, he served as the faculty member-in-residence for Pepperdine's Florence, Italy, program.

Dr. Griffin is grateful to be part of the Seaver College leadership team with the National SEED (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) Project.

Brad and his family are regular members of the University Church of Christ, where he has served as a worship leader, Bible class teacher, and servant leader for hospitality and fellowship.

Education

  • PhD in Performance as Public Practice, University of Texas - Austin, 2005

 

  • Duncan, Jane, Bradley Griffin, and Travis Malone. "Theatre Assessment for Teaching and Learning," New Directions in Teaching Theatre Arts. Anne Fliotsos and Gail Medford, eds. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018. (Forthcoming)
  • "Salvation on the Wicked Stage: Charles Grandison Finney, Aimee Semple McPherson, and the Legacy of Faith Performance in American Revivals," Communication and the Global Landscape of Faith. Adrien Hacker-Daniels, ed. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2016. 119-133.
  • "An Interview with Performance Artist Rachel Rosenthal," Ecumenica Journal. October 2009. Web.
  • "From Filth to Faith: Creating Holy Ground in New York's Five Points," Ecumenica Journal 2.1 (2009) : 37-51.
  • 2010: Graves Award in the Humanities: "Ancient Theatre, Alive!"

Directed Pepperdine Performances:

  • 2018 Medea
  • 2016 Crazy for You
  • 2016 The Threepenny Opera
  • 2015 South Pacific
  • 2012 Oklahoma!
  • 2011 Xanadu
  • 2010 An Inspector Calls
  • 2010 A Flea in Her Ear
  • 2009 The Persians
  • 2007 The Empire Builders
  • 2006 As It Is In Heaven
  • 2006 Necessary Targets, Musical Director, Pepperdine Scotland
  • 2006 Moby Dick – Rehearsed, Musical Director, Pepperdine Scotland
  • 2006 The Glass Menagerie

Presentations:

  • "Embedding Assessments, or How to Simplify the Assessment Process." Bradley Griffin, Travis Malone, and Jane Duncan, presenters. Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) Conference, Boston, MA, 2018.
  • "Closing the Loop Using Assessment." Bradley Griffin, Travis Malone, and Jane Duncan, presenters. ATHE, Boston, MA, 2018.
  • "Academic Assessment: Planning Outcomes and Measures." Bradley Griffin, Travis Malone, and Jane Duncan, presenters. ATHE, Las Vegas, NV, 2017.
  • "ATHE's Assessment White Paper." Bradley Griffin, Travis Malone, and Jane Duncan, principal investigators and presenters. ATHE, Las Vegas, NV, 2017.
  • "Table for Two: Using One Rubric to Assess Core Competencies and the GE - Simultaneously." Bradley Griffin and Lisa Bortman, presenters. Assessment Resources Conference, San Diego, CA, 2017.
  • "Assessment 101." Bradley Griffin, Travis Malone, and Jane Duncan, presenters.
  • ATHE, Chicago, IL, 2016.
  • "Theatre + Rubrics = Assessment." Bradley Griffin, Travis Malone, and Jane Duncan,
  • presenters. ATHE, Chicago, IL, 2016.
  • "Making Assessment Authentic: Student Involvement at Every Level." Invited plenary session. Bradley Griffin, Matthew Finley, and Kailee Rogers, presenters. Association of American Colleges & Universities Conference (General Education and Assessment: From My Work to Our Work), New Orleans, LA, 17-20 February 2016.
  • "The Three Cs of Theatre Assessment: Creativity, Critical Thinking, and Collaboration." Bradley Griffin, Travis Malone, Jane Duncan, and Monica Stufft, presenters. ATHE, Montreal, Canada, 30 July – 2 August, 2015.
  • "Assessment and the Co-Curriculum." Bradley Griffin, Connie Fulmer, Connie Horton, Lila Carlsen, Amy Adams, and Matthew Finley, presenters. Assessment Resources Conference, Oakland, CA, 22-24 April 2015.
  • "Assessment Swap Meet." Bradley Griffin, Monica Stufft, Travis Malone, Jane Duncan, presenters. ATHE, Scottsdale, AZ, 23-27 July 2014.
  • "Theatre Programs and Academic Assessment: A Pre-Conference Workshop." Bradley Griffin, Monica Stufft, Travis Malone, Jane Duncan, presenters. ATHE, Scottsdale, AZ, 23-27 July 2014.
  • "Measuring the Unmeasurable: Using Rubrics and E-Portfolios for Performance-Based Classes." ATHE, Orlando, FL, August 2013.
  • "Adventures in Modern Globetrotting." Jennifer Brody and Charlotte Canning, leaders. ATHE, Orlando, FL, August 2013.
  • "Salvation and a Show: Theatre and Theology in the Architecture of the Angelus Temple." ATHE, Los Angeles, CA, August 2010.
  • "A Workshop with Rachel Rosenthal, Elizabeth Cawns and Bradley Griffin, Co-Organizers. Presented by the Religion and Theatre Focus Group." ATHE, Los Angeles, CA, August 2010.
  • "Fear No Evil: Finding Beauty in Theatre's Difficult Dialogues." Bradley Griffin and Carolyn Hunter, Co-Chairs. The Christian Scholars Conference, Nashville, TN. 2010.
  • "Making Blue Theatre in a Red Spot (in a Deep Blue State)," Mid-America Theatre Conference, Kansas City, MO, February 2008.
  • "Theatrical Theology: The Role of Melodrama in Charles Finney's Gospel of Self-Creation," ATHE, San Francisco, August 2005.
  • 2016-2017: Seaver Research Council Grant to fund sabbatical research in March 2017 at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
  • 2015-2016: Kurt Weill Foundation Grant to fund professional musicians for Pepperdine University's production of The Threepenny Opera
  • 2015-2016: Kurt Weill Mentor Grant to fund a master class with Angelina Reaux
  • 2011-2012: Seaver College Research Fellow, Pepperdine University
  • 2008-2009: Seaver College Research Fellow, Pepperdine University
  • 2006-2007: Seaver College Research Fellow, Pepperdine University

Topics

  • Best practices in program assessment
  • Religious revivals as performance
  • Equity and justice work

Courses

  • Theatre Appreciation
  • History of the Theatre 1 & 2
  • Stage Directing 1 & 2