Dr. Judith Pender

Associate Professor – Acting/Directing, Graduate Liaison

PhD 1987 University of Georgia
MFA 1980 University of Georgia
BFA 1977 Missouri State University

320 FAC
(405) 325-5319
jmpender@ou.edu

Judith Midyett Pender is an associate professor teaching acting, directing, and occasionally theatre history.  She also serves the School of Drama as Graduate Liaison.  She holds a BFA in Theatre and Interpretation form Missouri State University, an MFA in Acting and Directing, and a PhD in Theatre History, Theory, and Criticism from the University of Georgia. While living and working in New York, she trained in the Meisner Technique.

Dr. Pender maintains a professional profile as both an actress and a director and has worked in theatre and television across the country. She is a member of the Actors’ Equity Association, Screen Actors’ Guild, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, and has studied stage combat with the Society of American Fight Directors.  A veteran of over 50 productions, her recent directing work includes the outdoor drama, Trumpet in the Land, (for the last 5 years), and for the School of Drama: Marat/Sade, You Can’t Take It With You (with Larry Drake), Much Ado About Nothing, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (with the OU Symphony), The Philadelphia Story, As You Like It, Moon Over Buffalo, and The Last Night of Ballyhoo. During the fall semester of 2004, she appeared as Professor Willard in OU’s University Theatre production of Our Town starring Ken Kercheval. Dr. Pender’s scholarly activity includes the recently submitted entries on Philip Barry, The Philadelphia Story, Holiday, and Paul Green for Encarta’s new Encyclopedia of Modern Drama as well as a workshop entitled, “Language and Character” for the Hawaii International Conference on Arts and Humanities in January 2004.

She and her husband, Dr. Thomas Pender, Director of the Nancy O’Brian Center for the Performing Arts, have collaborated on many creative and scholarly projects during their sixteen-year marriage.  The production of which they are most proud is that of budding paleontologist and ichthyologist, Samuel Thomas Pender, age 10.