Kathryn Bentley
Associate Professor, Head of Performance
MFA Lindenwood University, 2006
kbentle@siue.edu
618-650-2436
Kathryn Bentley is an associate professor of theater performan ce, and artistic director of Southern Illinois University’s Black Theatre Workshop. A theater professional with extensive experience as an actor, director and teaching artist, she holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Theater Directing and professional training in community arts and social justice. She is a 2002 St. Louis Regional Arts Commission Community Arts Institute Fellow, and she now serves as a faculty member for the institute. She is a National Conference for Community and Justice St. Louis Certified Diversity Facilitrainer and a Certified Lessac Kinesensic Voice and Movement Practitioner.
Her career as an artist has spanned several decades, and she has committed to utilizing her artistry as a way to challenge, inspire and build community through shared experiences. Her work integrates knowledge from her extensive professional theatrical background with over 13 years as a university professor. She has performed with companies such as The St. Louis Black Repertory Company, HotCity Theater, Portland Stage, Cleveland Playhouse and Buffalo Studio Arena.
As a director, Bentley finds gratification with spearheading collaborations and devised work. One such collaboration was Justice Too Long Delayed: Celebration of Letter from Birmingham Jail. Working with St. Louis’ A Call to Conscience Theater and SIUE’s Black Theatre Workshop, she co-created and co-directed this piece that used Dr. King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail as a backdrop to theatrically juxtapose the Civil Rights Movement and today's Black Lives Matter Movement. Some of her other university and professional directing credits include: Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Gem of the Ocean, The Colored Museum, Since Africa, Venus, Only Just a Minute, and Intimate Apparel.
Internationally, Bentley has worked in both Suriname and the Netherlands. Her research on the Afro-Surinamese Du Theatre has been presented to Surinamese, Illinois and Maryland audiences. In the Netherlands, she facilitated an interactive theatrical presentation for the 2016 Diversity and Inclusion Symposium at Leiden University.
In 2000, she was instrumental in developing the CHIPS In Motion program at CHIPS Health and Wellness Center in North St. Louis. This program utilizes performance to teach the community about pertinent health and wellness issues. She continues to serve as a consultant for the program. Bentley is a member of Actor’s Equity Association and Screen Actors Guild/American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. In 2014, She was one of the premiere recipients of the St. Louis Regional Arts Commission Artist Fellowship.
