About the Author

   William Grange holds the rank of professor in the Johnny Carson School of Theatre and Film at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. His interest in the German theater began when he was a college student at the University of Toledo (Ohio) and at Heidelberg University in Germany. After graduation, he went on to complete a Master of Fine Arts degree at Columbia University in New York City. While still a student at Columbia, he began working professionally as an Equity actor, appearing in several productions. He also acted with Shakespeare festivals, in summer stock, in dinner theater, and on tour with numerous companies.

   Professor Grange completed doctoral studies at Indiana University, where he was awarded a dissertation fellowship from the German Academic Exchange Service to complete research in Göttingen and Berlin. He is the author of books, book chapters, scholarly articles, encyclopedic entries, published reviews, and essays. As a speaker at scholarly conclaves, he has presented papers throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. Professor Grange has received numerous fellowships and grants for his scholarship and teaching. They include Ful-bright Senior Scholar grants, the Mellon Prize from the University of Texas, senior fellowships from the German Academic Exchange Service, and several grants from the Hixson-Lied Foundation, the Nebraska Research Council, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

   Having taught and lectured at a wide variety of colleges and universities, Professor Grange teaches an equally wide variety of courses in Nebraska. They have included acting, directing, theater history, film history, and play analysis. He currently serves as chairman of the graduate committee within the Johnny Carson School.

   Professor Grange has directed several plays on college campuses, including his own translations of works by Bertolt Brecht and Georg Büchner and several plays by Shakespeare. The musicals he has directed include Cabaret, Carousel, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Happy End, Grease, Pippin, The Boy Friend, and Babes in Arms. He has also performed in a number of leading musical roles, such as Captain von Trapp in Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound of Music and Prof. Henry Higgins in Lerner and Loewe's My Fair Lady. For the Nebraska Repertory Theatre's production of Carnival!, he played the carnival owner, August Wilhelm Schlegel. He most recently appeared as Caldwell B. Cladwell in Haymarket Theatre's production of the musical Urinetown. In their yearly awards, Professor Grange's colleagues have designated him the Johnny Carson School's Top Ranked Teacher and in other years the School's Top Ranked Scholar/Artist.