Educator

Academic Leadership

Alan Patrick Kenny has spent over a decade building, leading, and reimagining conservatory theater programs at the college and university level.

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As Dean of Theater at New World School of the Arts, he oversees NAST-accredited BFA programs and a magnet high school conservatory serving one of the most diverse student populations of any performing arts institution in the country. Since 2022, he has led a complete rebuilding of the division's curriculum, season selection philosophy, production processes, and operational infrastructure — while simultaneously co-writing and successfully navigating a 10-year NAST accreditation renewal in his first six months on the job.

 

At Ohio University, Kenny created and launched the BFA Musical Theater track within the School of Theater and designed the Certificate in Actor-Musicianship, the first program of its kind at any college in the United States, featured in American Theatre magazine. He also founded the New Musical Development Partnership between Ohio University, Tantrum Theater, and New York City's Musical Theatre Factory.

 

At the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Kenny earned tenure unanimously — rated Exemplary in Teaching, Scholarship, and Service — and led an initiative to double the enrollment of the BFA Musical Theatre program.

 

His scholarship includes a chapter in a volume published by Oxford University Press and a contribution to a Routledge teacher's resource guide. He presents regularly at the Musical Theatre Educators Alliance national conference.

 

Teaching Philosophy

Kenny approaches teaching with a riff on the Hippocratic Oath: first, do no harm. His role is to meet students where they are, move from the "sage on the stage" to a coach on the side, and help young artists realize they are capable of far more than the world has led them to believe. He engages students as professionals with material that excites them, connecting technique across genres through a common language of honest, human storytelling.