Hugh M. Murphy

Biography

Hugh M. Murphy was born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida. He earned both BA and MA degrees in Theatre from Florida State University. While a graduate student, Hugh was appointed Adjunct Faculty at FSU’s London Study Centre, and was delighted to live, teach and work in London for two years. Following that, he attended The Ohio State University, where he earned a PhD in Theatre History and was the recipient of the Dean’s Award for Dissertation Research, which took him back to London for another year. He then worked at The Wexner Center for the Visual Arts and at the Greater Columbus Arts Council as Assistant Director, with the responsibility of dispensing $750,000 in city arts funding to Columbus-based arts organizations. That task made him a firm believer in “all the arts for all the people, all the time.” Hugh relocated to Florida in 1989 and worked at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, as a grants writer, and ended his long career as an arts administrator as Executive Director of the Children’s Museum of Boca Raton. In 1994, he left the museum to return to his first love, the theatre, and has spent the last ten years as an actor and freelance director. As an actor, he has appeared in Equity Theatres in 11 states, and has directed in almost as many. He has been nominated for both Carbonell, Curtain Up and Handy awards, and has shared the stage with such luminaries as Hal Holbrook, Christine Lahti, and Matthew Modine. He is a member of both Actors Equity Association and Screen Actors Guild.

Research Interest

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY