Megan Westhoff

About Dr. Megan Westhoff

Dr. Megan Westhoff joined the Department of Communication in 2005 and was selected as Director of Theatre in 2020. Her teaching areas include directing, performance studies, theatre history, and technical production. Additionally, she teaches speech communication, small group communication, and theories of human communication. Prior to teaching, she worked in non-profit donor services, youth leadership program development, travel and tourism, and graphic design. She serves as the faculty advisor for Alpha Psi Omega, the National Theatre Honor Society. She was awarded the Outstanding Teacher (Seniors’ Choice) in the Department of Communication in 2022 and awarded the College of Arts and Sciences Excellence in Teaching Award in 2025.

A lifelong resident of Southeast Kansas, Dr. Westhoff’s research interests include improvisational theatre, masks in historical and contemporary performance, theatre involvement as a third place, women in theatre history, popular culture, and communication in social movements. She has presented research at the Mid-America Theatre Conference, the Popular Culture Association, the Religious Communication Association, and the National Communication Association.

As a theatre artist, Dr. Westhoff specializes in properties design, mask fabrication, moulage, and directing. Some of her productions of note include Love/Sick, Dial M for Murder, Blithe Spirit, Once Upon a Mattress, Silent Sky, The Revenge of the Space Pandas, Charlotte’s Web, The King Stag, The Water’s Edge, and Fuddy Meers.

Education

• Ph.D., Communication (emphasis in theatre), Regent University, Virginia, U.S.A., 2020
• M.A., Communication (emphasis in theatre), Pittsburg State University, Kansas, U.S.A., 2004
• B.A., Communication (emphasis in theatre), Pittsburg State University, Kansas, U.S.A., 2002

Teaching Emphases

• Directing
• Performance Studies
• Theatre History
• Technical Production