👋 Hi, I’m
David
Gorshein
I'm a
Creative director and educator with a PhD in Performance, helping organizations communicate with clarity, lead with story, and deliver measurable impact.
Creative strategist + educator at the intersection of story, structure, and strategy
As Associate Creative Director at The Sheppard Group, I lead campaigns for brands like Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, USTA, and Chase, shaping narratives across video, live activations, and internal platforms. My work has driven engagement, platform adoption, and brand visibility, earning coverage in outlets like The New York Times. I also teach in the School of Theater, Film & TV at UCLA, where I design high-impact digital courses on performance that reach over 1,000 students a year. My educational work, rooted in a PhD in Performance, shapes how I think about audience, clarity, and trust. I lead where content becomes connection, aligning voice with purpose, and building systems that deliver real impact. Still a theater kid at heart... just now working with message maps, campaign decks, and a different kind of stage.
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Ph.D
Theater and Performance Studies
University of California, Los Angeles -
B.A. with High Honors
Communication
Text to Performance
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
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Biz Bash Event Experience Award
Taco Bell Franchisee Convention: “Unstoppa-Bell”
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GLAAD Media Award Nomination, Outstanding Talk Show Episode
Conan, First same-sex wedding aired on Late Night TV
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Excellence Review
UCLA 2024
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Continuing Lecturer Status
UCLA 2019
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Fellow
Mellon Program on the Holocaust in American and World Culture
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Recipient
UCLA Library Affordable Course Materials Initiative
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Grants
UCLA Office of Instructional Development
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Research Fellowship, Moscow, Russia
UM Global Intercultural Experience
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Research Prize
James Pendleton Foundation
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Debut Prize, LGBT Focus Group
Association for Theater in Higher Ed
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Performance Studies
Northwestern University Summer Institute
Creative Highlights
I’m a Continuing Lecturer at UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television, where I’ve taught 65+ courses, including:
– Introduction to Theater
– History of American Musical Theater
– History of American Theater and Drama
– Global Theater History
– Play Reading & Analysis
– Jewish Theater
– Classical and Medieval Theater
As an instructional designer, I received the UCLA Library Affordable Course Materials Award for expanding access to lower-cost textbooks.
I’ve also served as a UCLA Admissions representative since 2012.
I’ve taught at California State University, Long Beach, where I served as Coordinator of Critical Studies and led:
– Theater, Protest & Social Change
– Dramatic Theory and Criticism
I've taught at Loyola Marymount University:
– Western Theatre History and Literature
– 19th Century US Theater
I've taught at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy:
– Early Theater Traditions
– American Theater History
– Musical Theater History
Publications
• Social
• Peer-Reviewed Academic
– Jews on Broadway
– Transposing Broadway
– The Dig: Death + Genesis + The Double Helix
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(323) 213 9684