Biography

Jordan Ealey (they/she) is an assistant professor in the Department of Black Studies at the University of Rochester. Dr. Ealey is a multidisciplinary Black feminist scholar-artist, whose research and creative praxis centers upon the efficacy of Black language, sound, and movement for Black feminist worldbuilding.

Bridging the gap between the scholarly and the artistic, Dr. Ealey is a playwright, dramaturg, and publicly engaged cultural critic. Their plays and musicals, which center community engagement, activism, and politics, include: JEANNETTE (co-bookwriter); SILHOUETTES (bookwriter); WOMEN WITHOUT VIRTUE (Unmarked: Stories Told, Single Carrot Theatre Company); LIFT EVERY VOICE (Out of Hand Theatre Company); I’VE BEEN A WOMAN (Kennedy Center Page to Stage Festival and University of Maryland, College Park); and SELF PORTRAIT WITH DIRTY HAIR (Womxn on Fire Festival, The Keegan Theatre). A dramaturg specializing in new work development, Dr. Ealey has worked with institutions such as Round House Theatre Company, Mosaic Theatre Company, Latiné Musical Theatre Lab, Georgetown University, Theatrical Outfit, and Hush Harbor Lab, among others. Additionally, Dr. Ealey is the co-host and co-creator of Daughters of Lorraine, a Black feminist theatre podcast, which is supported by HowlRound Theatre Commons.

Research Overview

Dr. Ealey’s research interests are in Black feminist theory and praxis, Black theatre and performance, nineteenth and twentieth century Black intellectual history, sound studies, popular music, and Black girlhood studies. Their manuscript-in-progress examines Black women-created music theatre from the nineteenth century to the present as a form of Black feminist knowledge production. Their work has been published in The Black Scholar, Girlhood Studies, Studies in Musical Theatre, He/She/They Could Have Danced All Night: Reflections on Gender and Sexuality in Musical Theatre, Theatre Topics (forthcoming), and Theatre History Studies (forthcoming), among others. Dr. Ealey’s research has been supported by the American Society for Theatre Research, Humanities Without Walls, and the Womanist Working Collective. They are the recipient of the 2021 Helen Krich Chinoy Dissertation Fellowship and the 2023 James F. Harris Arts and Humanities Visionary Award from the University of Maryland. Dr. Ealey earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and English from Wesleyan College and an MA and PhD in Theatre and Performance Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Research Interests

• Black feminist theory and praxis
• Black theatre and performance
• Nineteenth and twentieth century Black intellectual history, sound studies, popular music, and Black girlhood studies