Dr. David Beach

Welcome to my page! I teach undergraduate and graduate courses that help you expand your skill set and knowledge in writing, drama, linguistics, and literary scholarship.

UNDERGRADUATE COURSES

Foundations of College Composition (ENGL 111) & Critical Reading & Writing in a Digital Age (ENGL 112): These team-taught courses help you develop strategic skills for reading, researching, and writing college-level work.

Playwriting / Screenwriting (ENGL 311/411): These creative writing courses (introductory and advanced classes) focus on dramatic writing for the stage or screen. You come out of this class with two plays or screenplays that are ready-to-produce!

History of the English Language (ENGL 464) & English Linguistics (ENGL 465): These linguistics-based courses focus on the systematic study of how the English language has developed and is used in communication today.

The Author in Context (ENGL 470): When I teach 470, we dive into playwrights’ or lyricists’ works, often chronologically, to understand how they developed as artists. Recent offerings have focused on Sam Shepard, Stephen Sondheim, and August Wilson.

GRADUATE COURSES

Introduction to Literary Scholarship (ENGL 600): Or, as I call it, how to do grad school! We learn how to conduct graduate-level research and produce literary scholarship.

Creative Writing (ENGL 611): This playwriting course looks at playwriting holistically, from a collaborative perspective. The final project is an open reading of new plays, written and directed by the students themselves. Always a fun event!

Contemporary Drama: We explore contemporary (post-WW2) American and British drama, paying attention to how drama responds to social issues of the time.

OTHER WORK WITH STUDENTS

Directing: I direct productions where students can be involved as cast or crew. Often, these productions are related to events (Women’s History Month) or special productions (Mostly Medieval Theatre Festival.

Governor's School Core Faculty: In summer 2023, I taught Applied Theatre for Wicked Problems for the four-week Residential Governor's School for the Humanities and Performing Arts. We created ten-minute plays about wicked problems!

WORK I DO FOR STUDENTS

Director of Undergraduate Curriculum: In this position, I work with Academic Affairs and the campus community to ensure our general education program meets SACSCOC accreditation and our own curricular standards.  

University Governance: As a faculty senator, I am part of the deliberating body that approves curriculum and governs faculty work.

Academic Program Review: We ensure academic programs are sound and meet state and accreditation requirements.

Task Force on Civil Discourse and Academic Freedom: We have developed action plans to make the entire campus a more inclusive environment.

SELECTED CREATIVE WORKS

Director, H5; What Is Honour?, a solo adaptation of Shakespeare's Henry V
Mothers and Terrorists – winner of the Kennedy Center’s ACTF-IV Cauble Award for Outstanding Short Play
Merry Christmas, Good Soldier – Best Dramatic Script, The Hive Collaborative
Say Hi to Mick Jagger – Best Play, M.T. Pockets Ten-Minute Play Festival
Director, Cooch E. Whippet, or the Farce of Martin of Cambray, Mostly Medieval Theatre Festival

OTHER STUFF

PhD in Education/Instructional Technology, Composition & Rhetoric, George Mason U.
MFA in Playwriting with concentrations in Directing & Dramaturgy, Hollins U.
MA in English (Linguistics), George Mason U.
BA in English Language and Literature, Marymount U.
Coursework at UCLA and Bard College
Founder & Artistic Director of the Virginia Blue Ridge Theatre
Vice Chair, National Playwriting Program, Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, Region IV