Theater professor Sean Metzger, who created an online Asian American theater course for the entire University of California system, has been named this year’s recipient of the Betty Jean Jones Award — an honor that recognizes outstanding teaching and mentorship in drama education.
Metzger’s scholarship centers around the intersection of visual culture, gender, sexuality, race, economics and politics. His course, “Technologies and Migrations in Trans-Pacific Performance,” will launch in the spring and will be open to all UC campuses thanks to funding from the Office of the President. Exploring the relationship between art, immigration and technology and how they have shaped Asian American theater, it will feature lectures from faculty and alumni of the School of Theater, Film and Television and from other UC campuses.
Part of the inaugural cohort of UCLA’s Faculty Mentoring Honor Society in 2022, Metzger was also a faculty in residence for nine years. His experience also includes serving on the executive board of Performance Studies international and teaching for the UC Education Abroad Program at Fudan University.
He has co-edited four books and published two books, including “The Chinese Atlantic: Seascapes and the Theatricality of Globalization.” Recently, he researched British East and Southeast Asian theater through a visiting fellowship from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in England and continued work on his third book, which focuses on law, performance and refugees from the Asian diaspora.
Metzger received the Betty Jean Jones Award from the American Theatre and Drama Society, an organization that strives to celebrate achievements in the study of theater and drama. The award is named after Betty Jean Jones, a founding member of the organization. Jones was internationally known for her work as a director and her expertise in American theater and film.
