Directory
Gary Minyard
Adjunct Faculty
Adjunct
College of Arts and Sciences: Theatre
Profile
In addition to teaching at the University of Dayton, Gary Minyard is the Vice President of Education and Engagement for the Victoria Theatre Association. As an educational leader, Gary believes that participation in the arts is an essential component of every citizen’s well-being. At Victoria Theatre Association, he has created many community-based arts initiatives including Art F.O.R.C.E., Superhero Girls Like Me, Radio Waves and Guitars: A Bridge To Broadway.
Before moving to Dayton, he served as the artistic director of Pennsylvania Youth Theatre (PYT) in Bethlehem, Pa. While at PYT, he created several new educational initiatives including The Invisible Dance Company, On The Nose: Pinocchio’s Life Lessons and Pie In The Face Week. Gary also created the curriculum and pedagogy in the PYT School of Performing Arts which boasts talented faculty teaching over 400 young people techniques in acting, singing and dancing all year long.
Before PYT, Gary served as the Director of Education at Phoenix Theatre, a LORT-D professional theatre in Phoenix, running PT Connections, the education wing of the theatre. At Phoenix Theatre, he helped create educational programming including Partners That Heal, which sends professional actors to a local children’s hospital to help alleviate the fears of being in a hospital. Other programs include the Kinder Series, which are original plays written for toddlers from 1-6 years old, and the second Draft Series where playwrights are given the opportunity to get their play to a “second draft.” In partnership with the NotMyKid organization, Gary also created What’s OUR Story, a devised play project with high school students who are impacted by the stories of the NotMyKid speakers.
Gary is also an award-winning director and movement choreographer who graduated with an MFA in Theatre for Youth and Directing from Arizona State University. He also studied at the University of Houston and trained at the L'Ecole Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris. Gary is currently the President of the American Alliance for Theatre & Education (AATE). He is a founding member of the Eastern Pennsylvania Arts Alliance (EPAA), an active member of Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA-USA), the Society of American Fight Directors (SAFD) and Theatre Communications Group (TCG). He has also toured extensively as an actor, director and teaching artist through 48 of our 50 states with several professional theatre companies.