A Q&A with Theatre’s Morgan Hicks

Morgan Hicks
Teaching Assistant Professor, 
Department of Theatre in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences 

In this conversation, Hicks talks about her passion for being a professional theatre maker; her work as a director striving to amplify marginalized voices; how creative, empathetic, interesting and motivated her theatre students are; her involvement with TheatreSquared and the Fayetteville Film Fest; starting pre-production for the musical “Ride the Cyclone” she’ll be directing next spring; and the joy of returning to live theatre after the pandemic.
 
Q: Tell us a little about your research, academic passions and/or role within the college. What excites you about this? 

This year has been a really rich time for rethinking and reimagining our field.   

I’ve been fortunate to serve as a departmental advisor and have been working with colleagues in my department to restructure our curriculum in an exciting way to better serve our students.   

With my work in the field of directing, I’m currently exploring the way that intimacy training is transforming the work, and my current focus in theatre history and research is inclusion, representation and amplifying marginalized voices.   

I think what excites me the most about that is that we have an opportunity to rethink how we look at our canon, reimagine our role in the art and explore the “why and the how” of the stories we tell.   

Q: How long have you been at Fulbright College? What have you enjoyed most about your time here? 

This fall, I will be starting my 14th year at the University of Arkansas in the Fulbright College! 

There is no doubt that what I love the most is the students. I’m sure everyone thinks this, but the students in our department must be the most creative, empathetic, interesting and motivated students on campus!   

It is such a joy to meet them as freshmen and watch them grow, building their skills and their confidence each semester.    

The size of our department and the nature of our work allows us to really get to know our students as individuals, which I think is an amazing perk of this job!   

Q: What do you most hope your students remember from their classes and/or interactions with you? 

I hope that they remember that I held them with respect; that I had high standards because I believed in them, but that I had empathy and compassion.   

I hope they remember that I approached our work with care and a sense of humor because I think that we all need to be able to ask tough questions but also find the joy in the journey.   

I also hope that students remember that history is not just something that is written in a book, but that they have the power and opportunity to create history and that we are currently building the history that future generations will study.   

Q: What do you like to do during your time outside of the university? 

I am fortunate to be able to continue my professional career as a theatre maker, working primarily with TheatreSquared, but also with other regional theatre and arts organizations. I direct and sometimes perform.   

I also love spending time with my boyfriend, Brandon, my dog, Moritzio, and my friends who are my family.    

I also serve on the board for the Fayetteville Film Fest and love supporting local artists.   

We are so fortunate to have so much right here in our backyard, so as things open back up, we’re attending as many plays and concerts and live events of any kind as we can!   

Q: What’s up next on the horizon for you? 

Right now, I’m working on some big curriculum projects for our department, taking advantage of the amazing virtual professional development that is being offered this summer in our field, and in pre-production for the musical “Ride the Cyclone” – a dream show that I’m excited to be directing next spring!

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to add or let readers know? 

This year has been so difficult for so many industries. The work in the theatre department relies so much not only on being able to train students in person, but to also have the opportunity to welcome audiences into the theatre to receive their work.  

I’ve seen so much creativity from our students as we pivoted to virtual training and performances, but we are all SO ready to be back live.   

As you see the doors opening back up, I want to encourage everyone to remember how that live experience is like no other and to support live theatre!