Helen Deborah Lewis

Most essential to my philosophy of teaching are inspiration, passion, and inclusion. I try to inspire my students to keep observing, thinking, and questioning and to be passionate and committed to all that they create.

Helen Deborah Lewis joined the Conservatory in 2010 and is an assistant professor of theater and graduate advisor.

Lewis is a scholar, teaching artist, and dramaturg whose research interests include queer theater and performance, drag and genderqueer performance, theater historiography, American musical theater, and popular entertainment. She has previously taught at Tufts University, Marlboro College, and the University of Massachusetts Boston. Lewis has been a featured speaker for SpeakEasy Stage Company, Company One, and Longy School of Music of Bard College, and has presented at numerous national academic conferences including the American Society for Theatre Research annual conference, the Mid-America Theatre Conference, the Canadian Association for Theatre Research conference, and the Popular Culture Association national conference. In 2017, she was a featured speaker on drag performance at TEDx Berklee Valencia in Valencia, Spain. From 2017 to 2019, she served on the board of the Center for LGBTQ Studies at the City University of New York.

Lewis earned a Ph.D. and an M.A. from Tufts University and holds a B.A. from Brandeis University.

Notable Recent Works

• Hir (Boston Conservatory at Berklee, 2019)—Director (Staged Reading)
• The Usual Unusual (SpeakEasy Stage Company, 2019–2020)—Dramaturg (Staged Reading)
• Fun Home (SpeakEasy Stage Company, 2018)—Dramaturg
• Hot Dog Christmas (SpeakEasy Stage Company), 2018)—Dramaturg (Staged Reading)
• Piece of My Heart (Boston Conservatory at Berklee, 2018)—Dramaturg
• The Vibrator Play/In the Next Room (Boston Conservatory at Berklee, 2016)—Director