Norman A. Bert

Norman A. Bert teaches playwriting and dramatic analysis at Texas Tech University where he leads the playwriting program. Plays he has written include "Riders of the Golden Sphinx" published by Baker’s Plays, "America Shows Her Colors," selected for production by Inner Voices Social Issues (University of Illinois), and "Scenes from a Romance," showcased by the PlayWorks program of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE). Bert’s published books include "Theatre Alive!," "The Scenebook for Actors," and a series of "One-Act Plays for Acting Students." He assisted Sam Smiley in the revision and reissue of Smiley’s classic text, "Playwriting: The Structure of Action." His revised second edition of Louis Catron’s "Elements of Playwriting" was published in January, and his "New Corpus Christi: Plays for Churches" is due out in 2018.

Bert’s recent scripts include "The Pinsky Project" adapted from Robert Pinsky’s “Poem with Lines in Any Order,” "The Gospel According to Jesse," a documentary drama about poverty in America, "Nine Eleven Voices" commemorating the 9/11 attack, "Tiger Tales" produced at California’s Center of the World Festival, "Bhibhatsia" produced at New York City’s CringeFest, and "The Ring" and "The Lake," both produced by Därkhorse Drämatists in Binghamton, New York. His "Haboob," published in the on-line journal "Canyon Voices," was recently showcased at ATHE’s annual conference. "Pedrito’s Road," Bert’s play for young audiences adapted from a novel by Arturo O. Martínez, won second prize in the 2014 Beverly Hills Theatre Guild competition for Plays for Youth Theatre.

Bert earned his Ph.D. in dramatic theory and criticism from Indiana University and taught theatre in colleges and universities in Pennsylvania and Montana before moving to Texas.