Heartland Intimacy Design & Training

Dr. Jimmy Chrismon is a theatre educator with 17 years of experience in North and South Carolina public schools. He currently teaches full-time as an Associate Professor of Theatre Teacher Education at Illinois State University. He was an adjunct theatre faculty member at Winthrop University and Central Piedmont Community College. He has acted, directed, designed, and produced professionally for 24 years. He received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theatre Education from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he was a North Carolina Teaching Fellow. He received his Master of Education Degree in Theatre Education from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He most recently completed his Doctor of Education Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Gardner-Webb University. His dissertation was entitled “A Study of Theatre Teacher and School Administrator Perceptions of Traits, Characteristics, and Instructional Practices and Their Possible Role in Teacher Evaluation.” He has also worked for The Children’s Theatre of Charlotte and The Lake Norman School of the Arts. He currently resides in Bloomington, Illinois. He received the 2022 Johnny Saldana Outstanding Theatre Education Professor Award from the American Alliance for Theatre Education. He is the creator and host of THED Talks podcast with listeners in 98 countries. He has published articles in journals including Youth Theatre Journal, Drama Research, Pathways to Research in Education, World Federation of Education Associations, and The Journal of Educational Leadership in Action. He was recently selected to be a part of the first cohort in the Association of Mental Health Coordinators Certification program. Finally, his first book, Trauma-Informed Practices in 9-12 Theatre Education will be published in Summer 2025 with Routledge Press. Dr. Chrismon’s acting credits include The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Lonely Planet, Doubt: A Parable, Company, The History Boys, Godspell, Shadow Box, The Baltimore Waltz, Tick, tick...Boom!, The Little Shop of Horrors, The Odd Couple, Children of Eden, Candide, The Miser, The Good Woman of Setzuan, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, The Altruists, The Crucible, Dracula, The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe, and others. His directing credits include Princess =Fearless, Equus, Guys and Dolls, The Electric Baby, Seussical: The Musical, Godspell, Miss Nelson Is Missing, Rent, Spring Awakening, The Importance of Being Earnest, Children of Eden, Tarzan, Aida, All Shook Up, Grease, The Odd Couple, Lonely Planet, Interrupting Vanessa, Medea, the Wizard of Oz, A Raisin in the Sun, A Very Common Procedure, Geography Club, You’re a Good Man, Charlie, Brown, The Laramie Project, The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later, and others. His intimacy direction credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Fun Home, The Downpour, Romeo and Juliet, Space Girl, In Pieces, Young Frankenstein, Bloomsday, Next to Normal, Poolside Glow, Airness, Rumors, Grand Horizons, Once on this Island, Newsies, This Bitter Earth, Bonnie and Clyde, and others. His professional affiliations include The American Alliance for Theatre Education, The Illinois Theatre Association, The Southeastern Theatre Conference, and The Educational Theatre Association.