Elizabeth Bettendorf Bowman

Elizabeth has taught at Benedictine College since 2017 where she instructs courses in theatre management, introductory theatre, and public speaking. Elizabeth is a Kansas City based theatre artist focused on arts accessibility. She earned her BA in Theatre and Psychology from Northwest Missouri State University and her MA in Theatre with a focus in Directing and Theatre History at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory. She is the Executive Artistic Director of Kansas City Public Theatre which was recently honored by the State of Missouri “Arts Organization of the Year.” Elizabeth’s work with KCPublic has received several other honors, including features in the “Best of KC” issue of the Pitch KC, Broadway World, and as the resident theatre for the Charlotte Street Foundation.

Elizabeth has worked on the artistic team for several nationally recognized and Tony-award winning directors at theatres including Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre, Coterie Theatre, and UMKC Conservatory. Directing and artistic credits include: Eurydice (Benedictine College), Miss Julie, Her Own Devices, The Madness of Lady Bright, and various new works (KCPublic), The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (KCRep), And Justice for Some (Coterie), Photograph 51, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Tennessee Playboy (METKC), Street Scene, Love’s Labours Lost, and Private Eyes (UMKC Conservatory). Elizabeth trained with SITI Company where she has studied Suzuki-Viewpoints movement training. As an educator, Elizabeth seeks to serve the community, most notably as a resident artist for the United Inner City Services and as a college instructor in the Fort Leavenworth Prison System through Kansas City Kansas Community College.  For more than a decade she has taught classes at the Heart of American Shakespeare Festival. At the Coterie Theatre, Elizabeth has taught classes in improvisation, auditioning, creative drama, and a Master Class on performance methodology. 

Education:

MA – Theatre, University of Missouri-Kansas City

Interests:

Arts Administration, Theatre Management, Theatre for Young Audiences, Directing, Public Speaking