Alexandra Mackenzie Johns

Biography:

Alexandra Mackenzie Johns is a playwright, director, scholar and educator, specializing in large-scale commemorative theatrical events that bring communities’ sacred stories to life. Originally from Jersey in the British Isles, she now leads playwriting within Theatre Arts Studies, where she also explores site-specific theatre, particularly the reciprocity between landscape and religious performance.

Her work bridges theory and practice, emphasizing performance-led research. She is currently involved with three major projects: exploring pilgrimage as performance along the Mormon Trail, whilst curating and performing stories from it; performance and scholarship on how embodiment strengthens chains of religious memory between medieval female Christian mystic writers, such as Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe, and contemporary Christians today: and a verbatim theatre project exploring the return to faith narrative across multiple religious and faith backgrounds, in collaboration with fellow BYU faculty within the School of Communications and Dance Department.

Alexandra’s passion for theatre has taken her across the globe, teaching and collaborating with emerging artists in South Asia, East Africa, North America, and the Middle East. A co-leader of the “Performance, Religion, and Spirituality” group within the International Federation for Theatre Research, she has presented both nationally and internationally on religious theatre.

Committed to theatre as a revelatory expression of identity and faith, Alexandra blends playwriting, devising, verbatim theatre, site-specific practices and scholarship to illuminate the stories that shape religious communities and identity. She and her husband, Dr. Peter Johns, share a love for adventure as they raise their four children together.

Research & Teaching Interests:

Religious theatre; site-specific performances; verbatim theatre practices; practice-as-research; transcultural performance

Education:

• PhD, Theatre Studies, The University of Exeter (2020)
• MA, Theatre History & Criticism, Brigham Young University (2006)
• BA, English Literature & Theatre Studies, The University of Warwick (2001)