I’m an experienced higher-ed program and policy developer, an award-winning educator, a scholar of early American theatre, and a versatile writer adept at working in a variety of genres. In my spare time, I’ve been known to make action figures for friends and family, as well as a variety of printed material inspired by 19th century design and typography.
I earned my PhD from the University of Maryland and currently live in Columbia, MD.
2014
2006
2002
Program/Policy Design, Implementation
Worked closely with senior administrators in drafting/revising policies and developing administrative recommendations for consideration by the full Senate and President.
Designed a comprehensive onboarding/offboarding system for the Stamp Student Union at the University of Maryland.
Designed an online employee training program, with multiple modules integrating content and quizzes, required for nearly 600 student employees, as well an online training and evaluation resource covering financial policies and procedures used by the presidents and treasurers of more than 800 student groups at UMD.
Led a team that planned a signature research conference at the University of Maryland (budget ~$31,000).
Led a team that completely revised the governing documents of an important shared governance body at the University of Maryland; participated in a similar process at the campus level.
Designed and implemented policies and systems that improved student engagement with the Graduate Student Government by ~30%.
Teaching & Curriculum Development
Taught a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses, ranging from small seminars to large lectures, at the University of Maryland and the Catholic University of America.
Designed, taught, and refined four of my own courses, collaborated with faculty to develop curriculum for large- and medium-sized courses intended for a diverse student population.
As a Writing Fellow, worked closely with doctoral students from a variety of disciplines to improve their writing.
Honored with a Distinguished Teaching Assistant award from the Center for Teaching Excellence.
Sample syllabi and electronic training resources are available below in the Teaching & Training tab of the Portfolio section.
EDITING
Delivered developmental and copy editing services for 5 scholarly monographs/anthologies published by respected presses (including the University of Michigan Press, the Southern Illinois University Press, Bloomsbury, Methuen, the University of Iowa Press, and Palgrave Macmillan).
Served as an editorial assistant for professional journals (published by Cambridge University Press and others), working on more than 85 articles.
Proficient with a range of style manuals.
WRITING & RESEARCH
Earned praise and financial support from prestigious research centers, professional organizations, and the University of Maryland Graduate School.
Taught numerous writing-intensive courses at a major research university.
A versatile writer proficient in a variety of genres, from academic discourse to marketing and promotional materials, from journalism and theatrical criticism to training guides and bylaws.
Wrote an exhaustively researched study of the relationship between nineteenth-century American theatre and the development of copyright law, a project that involved work in archives up and down the Eastern Seaboard.
Samples of my work are available in the Portfolio section.
GOVERNANCE & LEADERSHIP
Provided leadership and oversight for six standing committees of the University Senate whose areas of responsibility cover a wide range of institutional policies and practices.
Led the board of directors of a non-profit child development program (~$1 million annual budget).
Developed and exercised proven leadership skills, earning the trust of senior administrators while working to achieve lasting change at the campus and local levels.
Developed tactics for building the sorts of productive partnerships necessary to achieve success in environments featuring a range of voices competing for priority and resources.
Led a committee that extensively revised the plan of organization and bylaws of an important shared governance body.
Chaired numerous committees and taskforces in the UMD Division of Academic Affairs and the Graduate Student Government.
My scholarship and commitment to university service has been acknowledged by the following awards:
Click on the images or hyperlinked citations to access copies of these publications. Click "close" at the bottom of this page to return to the main site.
Altschuler, Sari and Aaron Tobiason. “Introduction and notes to playbill for The Quaker City by George Lippard.” PMLA 129, no. 2 (March 2014): 267-73. Used with the permission of PMLA, published by the Modern Language Association of America.
A guide to writing journal articles for students in the School of Theatre, Dance, & Performance Studies. Created while a Writing Fellow in the Office of Writing Initiatives, University of Maryland.
Tobiason, Aaron. Review of “Triumph in My Song: 18th and 19th Century African Atlantic Culture, History, and Performance.” Early American Literature 48, no. 1 (March 2013): 267-75. Copyright © 2013 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the publisher (www.uncpress.unc.edu).
Tobiason, Aaron. Review of America’s Longest Run: A History of the Walnut Street Theatre by Andrew Davis. Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies 80, no. 1 (Winter 2013): 117-19. Used with the permission of the Pennsylvania Historical Association.
Tobiason, Aaron. Review of Theatre of Empire: Frontier Performances in America, 1750-1860 by Douglas S. Harvey. Theatre History Studies 32 (2012): 232-34. Used with the permission of the University of Alabama Press and Theatre History Studies.
Dissertation abstract:
In 1856, a change in American copyright law finally gave playwrights control over performances of their work. That change was the culmination of decades of concerted and sustained efforts by a small number of playwrights and their political allies, men who embraced a theatrical aesthetic at odds with antebellum American production practices.
I argue that previous scholarship has underestimated the importance of the 1856 law to the development of American theatre. Using a series of case studies, I propose that antebellum theatrical production was guided by a system of artisan dramaturgy. Key to this formulation is the concept of bespoke playwrighting: those who composed antebellum performance texts were more wrights than writers, handicraftsmen and women whose medium was the manuscript rather than the printed text. They drew freely from an extensive public domain created and protected by American copyright law. Published and unpublished plays, novels, songs, poems, current events—all were raw materials for the antebellum dramatist, to be combined, recontextualized, and reimagined. The system of artisan dramaturgy encouraged plays tailored to particular actors, companies, and audiences.
These practices, among others, vexed playwrights who resented subjecting their plays to the messy, collaborative undertaking of antebellum American playmaking. I explore how their vision for the theatre drew on a particular understanding of natural rights, one that led them to see copyright as the most effective way to alter the economic conditions of playwriting. I document the largely unexplored legislative history of their efforts, which ultimately interposed statutory law into an art form that had been regulated almost entirely by the common law.
The 1856 legislation accelerated a process that would ultimately alter the balance of power among the various theatrical collaborators in favor of the playwright, driving greater and greater synergy between dramatic text and performance and ultimately allowing playwrights to supplant the primacy of the actor or manager in shaping performances. By so doing, it also significantly reduced the vibrancy, flexibility, and innovation that had characterized the antebellum American theatre.
Undergraduate Course, University of Maryland
Graduate Seminar, Catholic University of America
TRAINING, CUSTOMER SERVICE, PREZI
I've had the pleasure of working with Aaron Tobiason on a number of editorial projects over the years -- not only on professional journals, but on my own scholarly research as well. There's no one whose "eye" I trust more. He has an infallible sense of what makes a persuasive argument, an unerring eye for copy-editing details, and he combines these talents with an absolute sense of professionalism. I've also recommended his work to several colleagues over the years and they've told me what a contribution he has made to their work.
Heather S. Nathans, Professor in the Department of Drama and Dance, Tufts University; Series Editor of Studies in Theatre History and Culture, University of Iowa Press
Besides being a joy to work with, Aaron is a take-charge person who is able to present and execute innovative ideas. He has successfully developed several marketing and training plans as well as creating online applications for our division that have resulted in increased productivity within the personnel department and within the employee workforce....Aaron regularly assumed leadership roles in training meetings, where he inspired and motivated other employees. Aaron's enthusiasm is definitely contagious.
Evonne Mathews, Retired Assistant Director for Human Resources of the Adele H. Stamp Student Union, University of Maryland
When I was Editor of the journal Theatre Survey, Aaron worked with me as the Assistant Editor. He excels in this role, and possesses a keen sense of how a sentence should be structured and how an argument might be made more cogent. Aaron also worked on a book project I was authoring, and he provided invaluable editorial advice, serving as both a developmental editor and a copyeditor. Aaron has an uncanny ability to detect passages that need clarification or rephrasing, and my book became unquestionably better through his work on it. Moreover, his editing made my own process more efficient and helped me finish the book earlier than expected. I recommend him wholeheartedly.
Esther Kim Lee, Associate Professor and Associate Director of Theatre in the School of Theatre, Dance, & Performance Studies, University of Maryland; Past Editor of Theatre Survey
Aaron Tobiason assists authors in strengthening their argument while supporting each writer's unique style and voice. Beyond meticulous editing, he offers insight and criticism that only a writer and scholar of his skill achieves. When an outside reader reported that my writing style was "rigorous but accessible, gracefully written, and practically free of error," I knew that I owed Aaron an immense debt of gratitude.
Chrystyna Dail, Associate Professor in the Department of Theatre, Ithaca College
Aaron Tobiason's contributions to my book were invaluable. Of course he had the educated, meticulous eye that corrected and strengthened my writing. He articulated his comments and corrections with sensitivity, but he wasn't afraid to stand by his informed opinion. Most importantly, he knew exactly what questions to ask. His insights clarified my argument, pointed out gaps in my thinking, shored up weaknesses, and ultimately helped me bring the book I was trying to write more fully to life.
Karl Kippola, Associate Professor in the Department of Performing Arts, American University