Dr Grant Peterson
Honorary Senior Lecturer

Summary

Grant Peterson was appointed Honorary Senior Lecturer in Brunel University London’s Arts & Humanities Department in 2025, recognising more than a decade of sustained and wide-ranging contributions to teaching, curriculum development, postgraduate supervision, and academic leadership. The honorary title marks the significance of his impact across the department and affirms his ongoing scholarly affiliation with Brunel following his return to his home state of California.

Peterson joined Brunel University London in 2013 and held a range of academic and leadership roles, including Programme Lead, Admissions Tutor, and Associate Dean (Student Experience) for the College of Business, Arts, and Social Sciences (now the College of Arts, Law and Social Sciences). His work bridges performance practice, critical scholarship, and creative arts pedagogy.

He remains an active researcher and supervisor. His current projects include a Bloomsbury-contracted monograph on interventionist street theatre practices in England and an article for Contemporary Theatre Review, “AI Will Reprise Us: Performance and Recasting the Academy.” He served as first supervisor to Ariel Whitfield Sobel, whose doctoral thesis, The Actor, The Audience, and The Spy: Tracing Actor Training Methodologies within Twentieth-Century Espionage Practice and Performance, received Brunel’s Vice Chancellor’s Prize for Excellent Research. He has also co-authored work with undergraduate students, including “Harmonising Neurodiversity in Musical Theatre Training: A Teacher–Student Dialogue” in Theatre, Dance and Performance Training.

At Brunel, Peterson co-founded and developed the university’s musical theatre pathway, shaping a curriculum that integrated performance training, critical inquiry, and industry awareness. Graduates of the programme progressed to advanced study at institutions including the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, as well as into careers across performance, directing, casting, dramaturgy, arts education, and arts management.

Following his relocation to Southern California, Peterson now directs and teaches musical theatre and acting in higher education, including in the North Orange County Community College District at Fullerton College. His teaching emphasises ensemble practice, actor training, and the integration of historical understanding with performance craft.

Prior to entering academia, Peterson worked for two decades as a performer in theatre, musical theatre, television, and commercials in Southern California. He received the Los Angeles Backstage Garland Award for Best Actor for the West Coast premiere of Dalton Trumbo’s Johnny Got His Gun (2003), which also received LA Weekly awards for Best Production. His autobiographical solo show, Performing Cancer (2011–12) chronicled his experience living with a rare stage IV cancer and was presented at the Bath Fringe Festival and at academic conferences in the UK and US.

Teaching and research areas

• Creative arts pedagogy and inclusion

• British alternative and interventionist theatre

• Musical theatre history and actor training

• Performance in public space

• Theatre and social change

• Gender and sexuality in performance

Qualifications

PhD in Drama and Theatre (Royal Holloway, University of London)

MA in Critical Studies in Theatre (University of California, Los Angeles)

BA in Theatre with Musical Theatre emphasis (University of California, Los Angeles)

Fellow in the Higher Education Academy

Mental Health First Aider - England

Recognised Programme Developer

Responsibility

Former Associate Dean (Student Experience) for the College of Business, Arts and Social Sciences

Former External Examiner for the MA in Drama at the University of South Wales

Former External Examiner for the BA in Musical Theatre, The Brighton Academy, accredited by Bath Spa University