Office Hours
By Appointment
Education
MFA, Ohio University
BFA, Auburn University
About Me
Ashley Butler is a lecturer in the Department of Theatre at Auburn University. Her pedagogical focus is on introductory theatre courses such as Introduction to Theatre for Non-Majors, Acting I, and Text Analysis. She is also a creative director and graphic designer specializing in arts marketing and non-profit fundraising, and serves in these capacities on the AU Theatre marketing team.
Butler received her MFA from Ohio University and a BFA from Auburn University, both in acting. More recently, she has studied song and monologue interpretation with acclaimed stage and film actor and singer Betty Buckley as well as continued her dance and movement training.
Throughout her career, Butler has served in many capacities in theatre and other arts, including as an educator, performer, director, graphic designer, choreographer, dramaturg, administrator, and archivist. She previously held an appointment on the faculty at Georgia State University’s Perimeter College (Clarkston Campus Theatre Program), where she taught acting and introductory theatre courses, directed productions of Proof, The Secret Garden, and Zombie Prom, assistant directed Blues for an Alabama Sky and Candide; and served as dramaturg on several productions. She has also worked as a private acting and voice coach, as director of the musical theatre workshop for Cleveland Play House’s summer theatre program, and as assistant director (dir. Daydrie Hague) for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Lee County. In New York City, she was a member and company manager of Aegean Theatre Company. Butler has performed in projects with Theatre Arts Guild/Georgia Perimeter College, Working Title Playwrights, and Peach State Opera (Atlanta); Aegean Theatre Company, Folding Chair Classical Theatre, and Cook-n-Trout Productions (New York, NY); Cleveland Play House; Monomoy Theatre (Chatham, MA); Ohio University; Tuskegee Repertory Theatre, and Auburn University. In recent years, she has performed in two Auburn University Theatre dance concerts and has performed in and directed curated musical performances in Auburn and the outlying area.
Butler is a member of the Association of Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) and the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC). Her teaching, research, and creative interests include intersections of theatre, dance, text, and movement; embodiment with authenticity from process to performance; integration of disabled and non-disabled performers; multi-disciplinary, immersive, and site-specific theatre; meditation and mindfulness-based performance tools; and theatre as a cultural force for social change. She very much enjoys introducing hundreds of non-majors to the magic and possibilities of the theatre as well as recruiting for the department.