UNA Professor Wins Rocket City Playwrights’ Series
Oct. 22, 2026
Michelle R. Eubanks , UNA, at meubanks@una.edu, 256.765.4392
FLORENCE, AL – Dr. John Gulledge, an Assistant Professor of English at the University of North Alabama, has won the Rocket City Playwrights’ Series in Huntsville with his play, Troll Bridge.
“I was entirely surprised” to win the top prize, Dr. Gulledge said. “Especially because this year was the competition’s tenth anniversary, so it was a bit bigger than usual. This was also my first time sharing any of my dramatic work publicly, so I really didn’t expect to be a finalist, let alone win. I blame the hilarious and talented actors who brought the script to life for its success.”
The narrative of Troll Bridge centers on Grimgor, an ancient moss-covered troll who faces a crisis when the Greater Municipal Elven Council issues a cease-and-desist order against his violent trolls and plan to replace him with an AI-powered tollbooth. The story is meant to convey a message about “trolling” and the “hustle culture” that is so prominent today.
“There is an increasing demand on young people’s time and energy to turn everything they do or care about into a ‘hustle,’ ” said Dr. Gulledge. “Hobbies, niche interests, creative endeavors, and even vacations get repackaged through social media where just about anything can be turned into new streams of income.”
Dr. Gulledge teaches classes on early English drama, including Shakespeare and the Medical Humanities. He is the author of several publications on performance and disability, including recent essays in Perspectives in Biology and Medicineand Inclusive Shakespeare: Identity, Pedagogy, and Performance. His first book, Wonder Work: Feeling Disability on the Early Modern Stage, is under contract with Kent State University Press. He received his Ph.D in English Literature from Emory University and his M.A. in English from Auburn University.
About The University of North Alabama
The University of North Alabama is an accredited, comprehensive regional state university offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs through the colleges of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering; the Sanders College of Business and Technology; the Spencer College of Education and Human Sciences; and the Anderson College of Nursing and Health Professions. Occupying a 130-acre campus in a residential section of Florence, Alabama, UNA is located within a four-city area that also includes Muscle Shoals, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia. UNA Athletics, a renowned collegiate athletics program with seven (7) Division II National Championships, is now a proud member of NCAA Division I and United Athletic conference. The University of North Alabama is an equal opportunity institution and does not discriminate in the admission policy on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, disability, age, or national origin. For more: www.una.edu and www.una.edu/unaworks/.