Brian Thorstenson

Teaching Professor

Brian Thorstenson is a San Francisco based writer, teacher and occasional performer. He has an MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. Brian was a founding member of The Z Collective and one of the first resident artists of the . He is an alumni of the Resident Playwright Program of the Playwrights Foundation and one of the founding members of .

Brutocao Teaching Award 2023 recipient Brian Thorstenson with ��ƽ�� President and Provosts

Brian received the 2023 Louis and Dorina Brutocao Award for Teaching Excellence and was the 2023-2025 Sinatra Chair in the Performing Arts.

Reflections on cura personalis and Ignatian pedagogy with other ��ƽ�� faculty.

Select Scholarship Credits

overhead, a skylark called (2025). Collaboratively created with Sinatra Visiting Artists-in-Residence Detour Productions and the Ensemble, directed by Eric Garcia & Kat Gorospe Cole (Artistic Co-Directors of ), the culminating project of the 2-year Sinatra Chair in the Performing Arts work.

Leanna Goodwater, Humanities Librarian at ��ƽ��, created a for the project.

Cheetah Biscotti, Mudd and Saharia Vetsch in Detour Dance's 'We Build Houses Here' (credit: Robbie Sweeny)

(2023), playwright. .

A drag performer with 2 lit red candles and red shawl

(2024), playwright.

A man and a woman sitting on chairs next to each other having a conversation in a darkened room lit only by sunlight through the window

actor and playwright (2018).

, playwright (2015). Erin Mei-Ling Stuart/

Left is of a shirtless man with fists up facing a man in a beanie and windbreaker; right is a close-up of 2 men in see-through ponchos - than man with glasses has the poncho hood up, the other man is bald with a beard

L to R: Brian Thorstenson, Christy Funsch, Rowena Richie, Chris Black

, writer and performer (2017). Created with San Francisco-based artists Rowena Richie, Christy Funsch and Chris Black

24 Postcards, writer and performer (2023)

2 men stand on the left and 1 man stands on the left of a large room with cream walls, a wooden roof and grey tiled floor. There's a bench on the right and modern art on the far wall.

Created with Palm Springs-based visual artist and London-based choreographer Stephen Pelton (Obras Foundation, Estremoz, Portugal)

3 people sit outside with their backs to us looking at a man lit by the moon

, playwright (2006).

Select Publications

The Santa Clara Wind Phone, Center for the Arts and Humanities blog (May 9, 2023)

, for Dancer’s Group published by In Dance (Sept 27, 2022)

Published Poems

, LAMDA Literary (Dec 1, 2015)

, Burning House Press (Sept 29, 2019)

Current work

The Road Trip Project: Parts , Two and Three. A series of devised installations and performances with Tim Gleason.

Collage of 2 men in bright shirts performing in a black box theatre with a projected map backdrop

Batt and Bass on the Road. Written by Brian Thorstenson, devised with Brad Anderson-Smith, performed by Brad Anderson-Smith & Brian Thorstenson, directed by Tracy Ward.

The Orchard, playwright. A solo play created with actress Anne Darragh and director David Ford.

Courses

Playwriting
Advanced Playwriting
Literature and Performance
Devised Theater Workshop
New Playwrights’ Festival
Social Justice and the Arts
Mainstage Production Director

Devised Theater productions at ��ƽ��

Collage of 5 ��ƽ�� devised theater productions: top left

Welcome to Claradise (2017) | love_stories (2019)
Pushing into the Blue (2021) | and carry what lingers (2023)

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