Author, Director, Devisor, Clown, Clinical Professor of Educational Theatre
Nancy Smithner, Ph.D., is a director, devisor and Clinical Professor in the Program in Educational Theatre at NYU, where she teaches physical theatre, acting, directing, play theory, applied theatre, and dramatic literature through a feminist lens. She teaches clowning at Circle in the Square Theatre School, and has taught at many international venues as a global scholar. She has explored multiple theatrical genres in her directing work, from classical to experimental works. As a devisor, she has led large scale environmental theatre projects and has worked with young people, community groups and incarcerated populations. An applied theatre practitioner, Smithner performed for 20 years as a pediatric clown doctor for the Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit and currently teaches in medium and maximum-security prisons. Routledge recently published her book, Embodied Learning in Educational Theatre: Perspectives on Kinesthetic Change and Social Transformation from Urban Classrooms and Prison Settings (2025).