Personal Bio:
After completing a Masters Degree at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (1985), and a Ph.D. at Louisiana State University (1988), Jay Allison joined the faculty in the Department of Communication Studies at the University of North Texas in 1989. He inherited the nationally recognized performance program established at North Texas by Ted Colson.

Dr. Allison is an innovative classroom teacher who creates a dynamic classroom environment in which students are challenged to broaden their experiences through exploring performance in its many varieties. His teaching has been recognized by nominations for major teaching awards and on three occasions he has been honored by the Women's Studies Program with Professing Women Awards.

Over the course of his career Dr. Allison has served as director of a number of national performance festivals, including Celebration of Literature (University of South Florida), the Carolinas Fall Festival (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill), the North Texas Performance Festival (University of North Texas), and the Petit Jean Performance Festival (founded by the University of Central Arkansas).

Dr. Allison is proud of his long involvement with Text and Performance Quarterly, founded as Literature in Performance. His tenure with the journal began in 1982 when he served as an editorial assistant to founding editor Beverly Whitaker Long. In the intervening years, he has served as an assistant editor, a manuscript reviewer, the Book Review Co-Editor, and the Performance in Review Co-Editor. Currently, he serves on the editorial board for the journal. Dr. Allison also has served on the editorial boards of the Southern Communication Journal and Communication Education.

Dr. Allison has one daughter, Jordan, and lives with his partner, Carl Parker, in Dallas.

Research Interests:
Literary and Performance Theory and Criticism
Narrative Theory and the Narrative Structure of Everyday Life
Southern Culture and Fiction

Notable Activities:
"Serving a Dual Purpose." (2008, January). Keynote Lecture. Patti Pace Performance Festival, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Editorial Board Member (1999-present), Text and Performance Quarterly.

Recent Publications and/or Productions:
Allison, J. M., Jr., & Wells, C. (2005). Performance and communication." In K. Anderson (Ed.), Intersections: An introduction to communication studies. Denton, TX: I(t) Work(s).

Allison, J. M., Jr. (2005). Performance of literature coursetext (Rev. ed.). Denton, TX: I(t) Work(s).

Allison, J. M., Jr., adaptor and director. (2005, March). "Changing Names." Southern States Communication Association, Baton Rouge, LA.

Allison, J. M., Jr., adaptor and director. (2003, Fall) "Good Country People." Northaven United Methodist Church; University of North Texas; Petit Jean Performance Festival.

Teaching:
COMM 2060: Performance of Literature
COMM 3010: Communication Perspectives
COMM 5460: Narrative Theory
COMM 5860: Southern Culture, Traditions, Fictions

Awards:
Professing Women Award, UNT Women's Studies Program, 1995, 1996, 1998.