The Daily Bulletin Archive

Anthony Chase, assistant dean in the School of Arts and Humanities, will receive the 2012 Community Leader Award in the Arts from the National Federation for Just Communities during its annual awards luncheon on January 19. He will be recognized for his years of service to the local arts community.

A noted drama critic, Chase has served as theater editor for Artvoice in Buffalo for 22 years and is the creator and producer of Buffalo’s annual professional theater awards, “The Arties,” which recognize excellence in Western New York theater and raise money for AIDS charities. He is the longtime cohost of WBFO’s “Theater Talk,” a local segment of NPR’s Morning Edition, providing insight and analysis of the local and national theater scene. He has also served as a dramaturge for Niagara University and for Shakespeare in Delaware Park.

He teaches theater history, dramaturgy, and criticism at Buffalo State, and he regularly lends his knowledge to local theaters, most recently staging the seldom-seen King John for Shakespeare in Delaware Park. He appeared in “Buffalo: All the City’s a Stage,” a video produced by the Theatre Alliance of Buffalo and Visit Buffalo Niagara, and recently narrated the Buffalo presentation of The Gay Marriage Plays, staged simultaneously at theaters throughout the world.

Chase was a feature writer for Theater Week magazine in New York for 10 years, and has also been published in Stages, In Theatre, American Theater, and Hispanic magazines. A distinguished critic and cultural analyst, he often appears on local and Canadian television to discuss cultural issues. His analysis of events at Columbine High School for the cover of In These Times magazine has often been cited for its insight on bullying, teen violence, and suicide. 

He holds a Ph.D. in English with a concentration in dramatic literature from the University at Buffalo, and a B.A. in English and theater arts from Trinity College, Hartford, where he was the President’s Fellow in Theater Arts.