Laura Levin

Dr. Laura Levin is a leading scholar, creative collaborator, and tireless mentor in theatre and performance studies whose influence reverberates across Canada and beyond. As Professor and prior Associate Dean, Research at York University and Director of Sensorium: Centre for Digital Arts & Technology, her work bridges performance theory, digital innovation, and social engagement.

Grounded in principles of equity and social justice, her research spans immersive, site-specific, and digital performance, with a focus on feminist, queer, and activist practice. Levin is the author of Performing Ground: Space, Camouflage, and the Art of Blending In (Palgrave, 2014), winner of the Ann Saddlemyer Book Award, and co-editor of Performance Studies in Canada (McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2017), recipient of the Patrick O’Neill Award. She has also edited several influential volumes, including Theatre and Performance in Toronto (Playwrights Canada Press, 2011), Conversations Across Borders (Seagull Books/University of Chicago Press, 2011), and Jess Dobkin’s Wetrospective (Intellect/U of Chicago Press, 2024). Her forthcoming works such as Playing Politics: Political Performance Art in the Americas extend her reach as a trans-hemispheric thinker.

Levin has published extensively in journals such as Canadian Theatre Review, Modern Drama, The Drama Review, Performance Research, and Photography & Culture, alongside dozens of book chapters in edited collections. She is also a prolific presenter and curator, contributing to more than 85 keynotes, panels, workshops, and conferences.

She has collaborated with artists including Jess Dobkin and Michael Wheeler, and her research-creation projects have been featured in institutions and festivals such as the Bata Shoe Museum, Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo (Mexico City), Eastern Bloc, and the Festival of Live Digital Art. Her work with SpiderWebShow helped pioneer live VR theatre, forging critical partnerships between artists and scientists.

Levin’s success in securing major research grants—over $100 million in funding as PI, Co-Investigator, and Collaborator—further demonstrates her leadership in interdisciplinary and community-based projects. She has led a SSHRC Partnership Grant, Insight Grants, a CFI grant, Canada-US Fulbright, and grants from other major funding bodies, most recently serving among the leadership for the Canada First Research Excellence Fund project, Connected Minds: Neural and Machine Systems for a Just, Healthy Society at York University.

Her editorial leadership at Canadian Theatre Review (Editor-in-Chief, 2011–2015) helped shape contemporary Canadian performance discourse, amplifying the voices of marginalized artists and advancing innovative scholarship.

Through her artistic collaborations, scholarly publications, and mentorship, Dr. Laura Levin exemplifies a commitment to performance as a socially engaged, intellectually rigorous, and artistically daring practice. Her contributions continue to define and redefine the field, making her a most deserving recipient of CATR's Distinguished Scholar Associateship.