Dean Adams

Faculty Research Connections Profile 

Dean Adams is presently a Professor in the Department of Theatre and Senior Associate Dean of Performing Arts Services at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.  From 1989 to 2011, he was the Founding Artistic Director of the Connecticut Theater Festival in Simsbury, Connecticut. As a producer and director, Dean has presented or co-produced productions with Hartford Stage, Parsons Dance Company, MOMIX, Pilobolus, Cirque de la Symphonie, Hartford Symphony, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, The National Theatre of the Deaf, and the Emerson String Quartet. He directed and designed a touring production of Once Upon a Mattress, the first musical ever to tour the People’s Republic of China (chronicled in the PBS documentary Beyond the Wall) in 1987.

Dean has previously taught at Kennesaw State University, Rollins College, and Florida State University. As the Artistic Director of the Department of Theatre and Performance Studies at Kennesaw State University, he created the musical theatre concentration and successfully gained NAST accreditation for the program. He is the recipient of the Kennesaw State University College of the Arts Distinguished Teaching Award (2009) and the Distinguished Service Award (2007 and 2013). His research focus is on the intersection between commercial and not-for-profit performing arts organizations.

Dean holds an M.F.A in Directing from Florida State University, an M.A. in Communications and Theatre from the University of Maryland, and a B.A. in Drama and English from Tufts University. He is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, Actor’s Equity Association, the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, the Southeastern Theatre Conference and the Association for Theatre in Higher Education. He is listed in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in Entertainment.