Orion Risk (they/them/he) is theatre director and PhD Candidate in Interdisciplinary Theatre Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, specializing in performance studies, trans studies, and feminist care theory. Most generally, their work explores discourses of care in gender, communication, and performance.
Orion’s practice-based scholarship through the UW Center for the Humanities explores virtual theatre and care between transgender people during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their article for Performance Research investigates this project for insights into care, vulnerability, and performance. Working on trans performance across cultures, Orion has published on Mexican Cabaret in Latin American Theatre Review. Research presentations include: Performance Studies International, Performance Studies Division of the National Communication Association (Top Student Paper), Mid-America Theatre Conference (Emerging Scholar), and the Cornell University School of Criticism and Theory. Their research has been supported by the Center for Research on Gender and Women (UW–Madison), the Cornell University School of Criticism and Theory, and the UW-Madison Division of the Arts. Orion is a recipient of the Capstone PhD Teaching Award and Phi Beta Kappa inductee.
Orion holds two MA degrees from the University of Wisconsin–Madison (Interdisciplinary Theatre Studies; Gender and Women’s Studies) and a BA in culture and performance from the University of Northern Iowa. Orion is a member of the UW Ethics of Care Initiative under the UNESCO Chair for Gender, Wellbeing, and a Culture of Peace.