Dwandra Nickole Lampkin
dwandra.lampkin@wmich.edu
Associate Professor of Theatre
Director of Multicultural Theatre
Western Michigan University, B.S.; The National Theatre Conservatory, M.F.A. | Joined WMU: 2012
Dwandra is pleased to be joining the WMU faculty in the Department of Theatre. Before arriving at WMU, Dwandra taught at Ball State University in the Department of Theatre and Dance for eight years. She received her B.S. from Western Michigan University and a M.F.A. from the National Theatre Conservatory.
Before starting her career in academia, Dwandra lived in New York City where she worked as a professional actress. Known as Dwandra Nickole (professionally), her television credits include Law and Order, Third Watch, Law and Order: SVU, and the critically acclaimed ABC series Wonderland-created by director/producer Peter Berg. She has performed regionally at the Tony Award winning Denver Center Theatre; The Huntington Theatre in Boston; the National Black Theatre in New York City; the Indiana Repertory Theater, the Phoenix Theatre, and the Human Race Theatre. Some of her most memorable roles include “Aunt Ester” in August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean; “Mrs. Muller” in Doubt, “Calpurnia” in To Kill a Mockingbird ; “Matron Mama Morton” in Chicago; and “Elizabeth” in In the Next Room, aka (The Vibrator Play). In addition, she has appeared in numerous commercials and independent films as well. Dwandra has also toured with the Washington Production Company in The Life Rosa Parks, a play written by Von Washington about Rosa Parks and her decision not to move from her bus seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus.
Dwandra is currently working on her new one-woman show entitled The Conviction of Lady Lorraine, a poignant story based on one woman’s search for insight found in another woman’s fight for justice. The show chronicles Dwandra’s personal journey as she set out to find the secret behind a homeless woman’s twenty-two year protest. Dwandra received grants from both Ball State University and the Indiana Arts Commission to conduct research and to create the show. Visit her website for more information on the show, for upcoming events, video clips and more! www.dwandra.com
Dwandra has also received grants from the Indiana Arts Commission and Ball State University to conduct research at the Schomburg Center for Black Research in Harlem, New York, (on the topics of “Stereotypes” and “Diversity” as it pertains to theatre in America.)
Dwandra is a member of Actor’s Equity Association, (A.E.A.); the Screen Actors Guild (S.A.G.); and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (A.F.T.R.A.)
