Troy Lescher

Associate Professor

Biography: 

“DT” - Dr. Troy Lescher (he/him/his) holds a PhD in Interdisciplinary Fine Arts from Texas Tech University, a Master of Fine Arts in Acting/Theatre from Brooklyn College - City University of New York (CUNY), a Bachelor of Arts in Drama from the University of Virginia, and an Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts from Piedmont Virginia Community College. He has also studied theatre arts abroad in the Czech Republic and Indonesia.

He has performed in theatre projects at the 78th Street Theatre Lab, the American Theatre of Actors, BRIC, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the Flea Theatre, the HERE Arts Center, the Jean Cocteau Repertory Theatre, the José Quintero Theatre, La Mama ETC, Repertorio Español, and the West End Theatre. He is also a former street performer at the South Street Seaport.

DT has toured with Obie Award-winner Ralph Lee and the Mettawee River Theatre Company, shared the stage with Tony Award-winner Bill Irwin in A Celebration of Clowning, and collaborated with Jaston Williams on an ensemble-based adaptation of A Tuna Christmas.

Some of his favorite stage roles have included Francis Flute/Thisbe in A Midsummer Nights’ Dream, the Gentleman Caller in The Glass Menagerie, Smirnoff in The Bear, the Stage Manager in Our Town, Trinculo in Caliban Remembers: A Balinese Tempest, Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, and various characters in The Laramie Project.

DT has several film and commercial credits and even made a “fowl” appearance on NBC’s The Apprentice (you might even see him in the background on a Law & Order or Third Watch episode). 

In addition to performing as a deejay, puppeteer, and clown, he has been a mascot and/or costume character for the University of Virginia, the Brooklyn Cyclones (Class A affiliate of the New York Mets), the Staten Island Yankees (former Class A affiliate of the New York Yankees), Sesame Street Live, and the Chase Championships of the Women’s Tennis Association at Madison Square Garden among others.

DT’s industry background includes several years as an Entertainment Producer for BongarBiz and Bramson Productions where he created special events for corporate clients such as Bloomberg Media, Merck Pharmaceuticals, Pepsico & TV Guide. He was also a casting consultant for the Late Show with David Letterman.

He served on the instructional faculty at Borough of Manhattan Community College (CUNY), Bronx Community College (CUNY), Brooklyn College (CUNY), College America and Texas Tech University. He was also a Faculty Developer and Senior Teaching Consultant at Texas Tech’s Teaching, Learning & Professional Development Center for four years.

DT has taught theatre arts at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Anderson Model & Talent Agency, Bas Bleu Theatre Company, Circus Minimus, Live Arts Summer Theatre Institute, Rising Treetops at Oakhurst (formerly Camp Oakhurst), State of Texas’ University Interscholastic League, and in numerous NYC Public Schools through Puppetry in Practice.

He has given professional presentations for the California Educational Theatre Association, Front Range Community College, Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, Laramie County Community College, Texas Organization for Associate Degree Nursing, and Texas Speech-Language-Hearing Association. He has also facilitated numerous teaching and learning-based workshops and authored three pedagogy-based white papers.

DT’s dissertation, titled “Greasepaint Pedagogy: Contemporary Clown Instruction in the United States,” focuses on clown training through the instructional perspectives and approaches of Christopher Bayes, Avner Eisenberg, Julie Goell, and Dick Monday.

Every year since 2010 (with the exception of 2015), he has continued to co-author the annual “Doctoral Projects in Progress in Theatre Arts” publication formerly of Theatre Journal (2010 thru 2019) and now published by the Association for Theatre in Higher Education [ATHE] (2020 to present).

Among his various honors, DT has been nominated for a Texas Tech Mortar Board Teaching Award and “Best Direction of a Play” through Broadway World San Francisco. He has been the recipient of awards from the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network in Higher Education and Texas Tech’s Mentor Tech program.

At Cal Poly Humboldt, DT has taught an array of courses including Acting I/II/III, Acting for the Camera, Behind the Scenes in Theatre, Clowning for Actors, Creative Drama, Critical Analysis Stage & Film, Principles of Stage Directing, Story Through World & Image, Theatre History & Criticism I/II, and Theatre of the Oppressed.  

He has also directed several shows on the Cal Poly Humboldt mainstage including Columbinus, Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Jungalbook. He co-directed Dreamers: Aquí y Allá which included the participation of the California-Mexico Studies Center and US Congressman Jared Huffman. He also served as Dramaturg for The Living Newspaper Project.

DT’s community service includes the Betty Kwan Chinn Children’s Center, Blue Ox Millworks, Humboldt County Department of Health and Human Services, Literacy Lubbock, Meals on Wheels, New York Methodist Hospital, Redwood Discovery Museum PAL Camp, South Plains Children’s Shelter, and the Virginia Discovery Museum. 

Troy Matthew Lescher
(707) 826-5491
Theatre Arts 019