Matt Omasta is Professor and Chair of the Department of Theatre at Miami University of Ohio. His work focuses on theatre and drama in applied, community-engaged, and educational contexts; theatre for young audiences; audience / spectator studies; and qualitative research methods. He is particularly interested in exploring how performance impacts human experience. His publications, which have been cited over 2,000 times, include:

• Play, Performance, and Identity (Routledge, 2015) with Drew Chappell
• Playwriting and Young Audiences (Intellect, 2017) with Nicole B. Adkins
• Qualitative Research: Analyzing Life (2nd edition, SAGE, 2021) with Johnny Saldaña
• Impacting Theatre Audiences: Methods for Studying Change (Routledge, 2022) with Dani Snyder-Young

As a creative artist, Dr. Omasta creates and mentors students in the creation of research-based ethnographic performances that explore the lived experiences of diverse communities, including people experiencing mental illness, bi/multi-racial students at predominantly white universities, members of the LGBTQIA+ community from religious backgrounds, women, and older adults.

Dr. Omasta was the inaugural recipient of the Johnny Saldaña Outstanding Professor of Theatre Education award from the American Alliance for Theatre and Education (AATE). Dr. Omasta holds a Ph.D. in theatre from Arizona State University, an M.A. in theatre education from Emerson College, and a B.A. in drama from Ithaca College.