Oreoluwa Ayoola

Oreoluwa Oluwabukola Ayoola is a first-year Ph.D. student in Drama and Theatre at the University of California, San Diego. She holds a Master of Arts in Theatre from Bowling Green State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

Her research interests center on African and African American performance, with particular attention to colorism, Black feminism, and the representation of Black women in theatre and performance. She is especially interested in how methods such as ethnography, autoethnography, and performance-as-research can be used to examine performance as a site of resistance against Eurocentric beauty standards and other systemic oppressions. Her broader interests include gender, race, sexuality, LGBTQIA+ identities in African societies, and the intersections of memory, representation, and resistance in performance histories.

Alongside her research, Oreoluwa is an active theatre practitioner and actor. She has performed in productions at the Wole Soyinka Theatre in Nigeria and at Bowling Green State University. Her long-term goal is to contribute to the field of Theatre and Performance Studies as a scholar, teacher, and mentor, while creating opportunities for emerging performers and scholars in Africa.

Research 

African and African American performance, with particular attention to colorism, Black feminism, and the representation of Black women in theatre and performance. Focused interest in how methods such as ethnography, autoethnography, and performance-as-research can be used to examine performance as a site of resistance against Eurocentric beauty standards and other systemic oppressions.

Education 

BA in Theatre Arts from University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

MA in Theatre from Bowling Green State University, Ohio.