Rodríguez Villar honored by Association for Hispanic Classical Theater, Inc.

Hanover College faculty member Alejandra Rodríguez Villar has been selected as the recipient of the 2024 David Gitlitz Comedia Prize in Pedagogy and Mentorship from the Association for Hispanic Classical Theater, Inc. (AHCT). The accolade recognizes efforts to foster greater appreciation for Spain’s classical drama in production.

The Gitlitz Prize, first awarded in 2018, is presented once every three years to an AHCT member. The honor is named for the late Gitlitz, a respected Harvard University-educated professor, administrator and author who specialized in Hispanic studies and Jewish history.

Rodríguez Villar, an associate professor of Spanish, specializes in advanced grammar and Early Modern Spanish literature and theater. Her research and scholarly production focus on cognitive studies, performance studies, humor, translation and digital humanities.

An active theater practitioner as an actor, director and playwright, Rodríguez Villar’s educational pursuits extend beyond the classroom. Since joining Hanover’s faculty in 2018, she has immersed Hanover’s students into Golden Age theatre through such endeavors as student-performed Spanish-language video presentations of famed author Miguel de Cervantes’ “The Devoted Guard” and “The Cave of Salamanca,” and a unique campus performance by the Dragoncillo Puppet Troupe.

Rodríguez Villar, who currently serves as AHCT secretary, previously earned the 2020-21 PALSave Open Pedagogy Innovator Award from the Private Academic Library Network of Indiana, Inc., and Hanover’s 2023 Daryl R. Karns Award for Scholarly and Creative Activity.

The Association for Hispanic Classical Theater, Inc. was chartered in 1984 as a non-profit body. The AHCT maintains a rare collection of Spanish Renaissance and Baroque plays on film and videotape. The materials are available to members and serve as resources for scholarly investigations, an invaluable repertoire for theatrical companies, classroom tools and entertainment for the general public.