Caleb M. Beidelman is a PhD student with artistic and scholarly interests in Post-World War I+II anti-theatre including: Theatre of the Absurd, Dadadism, Theatre of Cruelty, and Symbolist Theatre. He earned his MA in Theatre from Case Western Reserve University in 2020 with his direction of Eugene Ionesco’s The Chairs as his thesis. Beidelman hopes to continue his research of Theatre of the Absurd by creating a successor manifesto to Martin Esslin’s Theatre of the Absurd as his dissertation. 

During his time at Case Western Reserve, Beidelman served as the Box Office Manager for the Department of Theatre. He also received an Andrew W. Mellon fellowship during the Spring Semester of the 2019-2020 school year. During his fellowship he took part in a mentorship program with a faculty member at Cuyahoga Community College and co-taught a Theatre Appreciation course. He credits this fellowship as the impetus for him wanting to pursue teaching theatre as a full-time career. 

Following his graduation from Case Western Reserve University, Beidelman taught Theatre Appreciation, Acting I, II, and III as well as Theatre History I+II for two years at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, OH.

Beidelman has had the pleasure of directing three of Samuel Beckett’s playlets including:  Ohio Impromptu, which Beckett wrote for an academic symposium in Columbus, Ohio in honor of his seventy-fifth birthday, Footfalls, and Rockaby. 

Previously, Beidelman earned a BA in Theatre with a minor in Philosophy from Hanover College in southern Indiana. While there he served as Assistant Technical Director and had the pleasure of studying under Kabuki and Zen Arts master Shozo Sato during his time assisting with a Kabuki production of Othello which Beidelman played the lead role in during the 2015/2016 school year.