Lynne Conner is a cultural historian and playwright/director currently serving as Chair of the Theater and Dance Department at Colby College. Her research interests and consulting projects are focused on studying the history and contemporary status of audience behavior and psychology, with a special interest in how audiences engage in the interpretive process. She has given scores of talks on topics in the cultural policy field, including keynote and panels lectures at the Salzburg Global Seminar, Toronto Creative Trust, National Performing Arts Convention, Wallace Foundation, International Society of Performing Arts Presenters, Boston Foundation/Massachusetts Cultural Council, Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, Southwest Arts Conference, Grantmakers in the Arts, Dance USA, and the American Symphony Orchestra League, among others. Her audience studies publications include a widely cited chapter in Engaging Art: The Next Great Transformation of America’s Cultural Life, co-edited by Steven J. Tepper and Bill Ivey (Routledge, 2008), Project Brief: The Arts Experience Initiative (available at www.heinz.org), and We the Audience: The Pleasures of Interpretation in the Live|Digital Era, forthcoming in fall 2013 from Palgrave Macmillan. She has twice before been a guest blogger for ArtsJournal.com.
An ArtsJournal Discussion | Jan. 23-27, 2012
