Ark City native Michael Bradford stopped by the KSOK/Bob FM studios Thursday morning to talk about his return to his hometown.
Bradford is the Vice Provost for Faculty, Staff, and Student Development at the University of Connecticut and will soon take a similar position at the University of California, Davis.
Bradford, a Gulf War Navy veteran, is back in Ark City to talk to students about his journey from Cowley County to Connecticut along with his playwriting and academic careers. On Monday, Bradford will talk to students on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
At UConn, Bradford has held roles as department head of Dramatic Arts, artistic director of the Connecticut Repertory Theatre, and faculty director for the Schola2rs House Learning Community, according to the university’s website.
Bradford is professor of dramatic arts and teaches theatre history, dramatic literature, and playwriting. His full-length and one-act plays have been produced at various venues in New York, including Off-Broadway at the American Place Theatre, the LARK Play Developmental Center, and the Ensemble Studio Theatre.
Internationally he is the recipient of the Research Scholar Fulbright to Granada, Spain, has led writing workshops at Teatro Oficina Theatre Company, Guimareas, Portugal and the University of Theatre, Tirgu-Mures, Romania. His work is published by Dr. Cicero Press (Woodstock, NY), Broadway Play Publishing, Inc. (NY, NY) and can also be found in the anthology, “Seven More Different Plays”, edited by Mac Wellman.
Bradford holds a Master’s of Fine Arts from Brooklyn College CUNY and a bachelor’s in general studies from UConn.
Bradford was recently named one of the “100 Most Influential Blacks in the State of Connecticut.”
