Allan Carlsen discusses Healthcare Theatre at a University event in Baltimore in 2018.

In Memoriam: Allan Carlsen

Article by UDaily staff Photos by Kevin Quinlan, Colin Heffinger, Ashley Barnas and courtesy of University Archives and Records Management May 23, 2025

Campus community remembers theatre professor, director of Healthcare Theatre

Allan Carlsen, assistant professor of theatre and director and co-founder of Healthcare Theatre at the University of Delaware, passed away May 17, 2025. He was 82.

Professor Carlsen joined the faculty of the University’s Department of Theatre (now the Department of Theatre and Dance) in 2001, with a resume that included directing and acting credits both on and off-Broadway, as well as regional theatre and television throughout the United States and Canada.

In 2009, he co-founded Healthcare Theatre at the University and became its director. This interdisciplinary program is a collaboration between the College of Health Sciences and the College of Arts and Science, designed to develop the communication skills needed by healthcare professionals through interactive scenarios. Students are trained to portray patients and family members in live standardized healthcare encounters that the clinicians will face in the workplace, giving them a highly realistic, but safe, experience empowering all participants to grow both personally and professionally.

In a 2023 College of Health Sciences article about Healthcare Theatre, Professor Carlsen called the program ‘’unique and transformative.” He said, “It’s changing the way future and current health care providers are trained to enhance their medical and communication skills by providing an effective approach in learning how to interact in a healthcare environment.”

Colleagues remember

Several of Professor Carlsen’s colleagues and friends shared reflections about him.

Bill Farquhar, dean of the College of Health Sciences:

“Allan was a devoted faculty member whose energy, creativity and compassion left a lasting mark on our college. Through his leadership of Healthcare Theatre, he helped shape a truly innovative and nationally recognized program—one that has impacted countless students, faculty and clinical partners. Many of our students benefited from his passion for teaching and his generous mentorship, and many of us were fortunate to call him a colleague and friend.”

Sanford Robbins, founder and former producing artistic director of the Resident Ensemble Players (REP):

“I had the great pleasure of working with Allan Carlsen in his many ‘roles’ at the University of Delaware – actor, director, producer, teacher and director of Healthcare Theatre – and to participate with him in several of his activities of service in the community. That Allan did so many different things so well is an expression both of his multifaceted talents and of his commitment to always provide what was wanted and needed in support of others.

“Allan’s generosity and tireless service to so many people and organizations leaves a legacy that few of us will achieve. He was a wonderful teacher, a beloved colleague, a talented theatre maker, a valuable contribution to his church and his community, and a devoted family man. He was always the first to volunteer for any opportunity to serve and he discharged his many accountabilities and responsibilities passionately, excellently, and with true humility, always acknowledging others for their contribution and unselfishly giving of himself. He will be deeply missed.”

Professor Carlsen with Kathy Matt, then dean of the College of Health Sciences, 2011.

Kathleen S. Matt, professor emeritus and former dean of the College of Health Sciences:

“The Wizard of Healthcare Theatre—An Inspiration, a Force and a Legend. I first met Allan Carlsen when I walked into a nursing classroom in McDowell Hall and unexpectedly found that Allan and his collaborators had turned the old classroom into a theatre and the rest is history. That was one of the first runs of Healthcare Theatre that would then go on to transform how we educate and train health care professionals.

“Allan could transform anything and any space into a theatre and that is exactly what we did when we built the simulation spaces on the fourth floor of the Tower at STAR. It is a black box theatre, as Allan calls it. With walls covered with flat screens, you can convert the space into any kind of environment: a hospital waiting room, a recovery room filled with patient actors or a street corner where an accident has just occurred. All you have to do is bring in the props and the students can learn and be tested in all types of environments.

“Standardized patients are commonly used to help train healthcare professionals in medical schools. But in using Healthcare Theatre, the simulations are absolutely not standardized, it is improvisation at its best. The intensity of the simulation is adjusted to the skill of the learner. This method is targeted to train students for the challenges that they will face in the future. We also use this method to do interprofessional training, that is training students from multiple disciplines together in simulations including: nursing, physical therapy, speech therapy, behavioral health, nutrition and health coaching, and many others.

“The patients and the family members who ‘play the parts’ in these simulations are UD students of various majors from across the University that have been taught by Allan Carlsen in his Healthcare Theatre classes. Through this program and through Allan’s work so many students and faculty have been touched and impacted; he has changed heads and hearts in so many ways. These theatre simulations are used not only in our classrooms, but in our conferences, in our community work, in training health care professionals throughout our state and other states as well.

“Allan has taught so many in the art of patient-centered healthcare. Countless doctors and premedical students, who are former students of Allan come back to thank him for his classes, his mentorship and his friendship. Allan has left a lasting impact on each and every one of us through how he has touched our lives personally or indirectly and through his powerful impact on training healthcare professionals. Allan Carlsen’s legacy will live on in each and every one of us.”

Allan Carlsen with Heathcare theatre staff

Professor Carlsen with (from left) Javonte Perry, Healthcare Theatre program coordinator, and Heather Mekulski, Healthcare Theatre program manager.

Kathleen Becker, advanced course instructor, Healthcare Theatre:

“Allan Carlsen’s determination, curiosity, professionalism and lifelong learner’s heart made him an outstanding professor. His humor, gregariousness, dependability and empathy made him an incredible friend.

“Allan became a role model when my time in Healthcare Theatre began 10 years ago, and he quickly became like family to me. He truly loved teaching, and some of his favorite moments were made as he empowered students to reach their full potential.

"While he loved his work and delighted in running and growing Healthcare Theatre (HT), Allan always put his family first, and his heart was overflowing with pride and love for his wife, children and grandchildren. He made sure to run HT in a way that encouraged his colleagues to always prioritize their families, too.

“Allan was truly a one-of-a-kind soul, and I know I’ll never meet someone like him again in this lifetime. I feel so privileged to have called him a colleague, a mentor and a dear friend.”

Javonte Perry, program coordinator, Healthcare Theatre:

“I first met Allan in 2020 when I became a basic student in HT. My first impression was just that he was some quirky guy who loved theatre. While I learned that to be true, I also learned that he was a very caring, energetic and generous person. He never failed to encourage me whether it'd be in regards to performing in a new simulation, participating as a speaker at conferences or in my personal life such as applying for graduate school. He was always encouraging me to be a better me and I will always be grateful for that.”

Heather Mekulski, program manager, Healthcare Theatre:

“Allan Carlsen was the best boss, cheerleader, mentor and friend. If you were ever in a room with Allan Carlsen, you immediately experienced his joy, energy and humor. His impact on the Delaware community has been massive and he was so proud of and cared for his partners and performers in Healthcare Theatre. I am blessed to be a part of a program where I get to experience his impact on a daily basis. I will greatly miss our daily chats, laughs, inside jokes and stories, and am grateful to his family for sharing such a wonderful man with us. There will never be a man quite like him, and his mission will live on.”

In a 2011 demonstration of the Standarduzed Patients program, Professor Carlsen chats with 'patient' Zack Gurock.

Zack Gurock, academic adviser II, School of Nursing:

“I have known Allan since 2007, first as his student, then teaching assistant, then colleague. However, most importantly, he was one of my best friends. I am so grateful that my final memory of him was of us laughing together.

“To put it simply, Allan shaped the person I am today. He was a gifted artist, a brilliant educator and, above all else, a passionate supporter of the people around him. Rarely, if ever, would he speak about his own accomplishments, focusing instead on the lives of those around him. I would be hard-pressed to think of another person who so selflessly devoted themselves to the success of others.

“I am sure others will speak to his professional career, but I think he would be embarrassed by that. Instead, I will say that he was a deeply loving and caring individual whose greatest success can be measured by the profound impact he had on the lives of those around him. The world will not be the same without him.”

Hal Kramer, retired family physician and UD Instructor in health studies:

“Allan was the missing link in my new courses, engaging our students to explore the softer skill sets of ‘Meet the Human.’ What I teach can only succeed if our students are adept at first finding out who their patient really is. I have been taught as well by Allan and will continue to keep his life’s lessons ready for our future students continuing their journeys in healthcare.”

Anne Clarke, scenic charge artist, Department of Theatre and Dance:

“I will miss Allan’s voice and enthusiasm for the REP productions. More times than I can count, he would look right at me with all seriousness and say, ‘That was the most amazing looking set—I don’t know how you do it!—I am just so astounded by what we do here!’ He would then joke about in his ‘free time’ one day he would come and work with us in the shops. Although I am so sad I won’t get to talk with him again, and I cannot have him help me in the shop, I am positive he is in an amazing place—freely creating theatre for the souls that are lucky enough to run into him.”

Suzanne Burton, senior associate dean for the arts and professor of music education:

"Allan was a cherished human being who loved and cared for all people. This was evident in the rapport he had with students, faculty, staff and the community. I am a better person for knowing and learning from him—his kind, gentle, tireless and selfless model. While I am deeply saddened that the world has lost this remarkable man, I find comfort in the lasting and genuine legacy he left behind."

Allan Carlsen with a pre-vet master class

In 2023, Professor Carlsen leads a master class for pre-vet students in the Department of Animal and Food Sciences, for a simulated veterinary office visit with a difficult client.

About Allan Carlsen

Allan Carlsen was born and raised in Chicago, where graduated from Leyden High School. He attended the University of Pennsylvania, studying electrical engineering. When he realized that electrical engineering was not for him, he returned to Chicago and began working with ABC Network. His passion for performance led him to New York City, where he pursued a career on Broadway, beginning with a breakout role in Freedom of the City. Over the course of 17 years, Professor Carlsen starred in and directed countless New York City productions. His most celebrated and signature role was that of Billy Bishop in Billy Bishop Goes to War, a demanding one-man show that showcased his immense talent and emotional depth.

Over the years, he collaborated on numerous productions, musicals, dance performances and church events. He was actively involved in and supported the University of Delaware’s Resident Ensemble Players, Chapel Street Players, and was a pillar of the local performing arts community.

Processor Carlsen is survived by his wife of 33 years, Lisa Papili-Carlsen; his children and their spouses, Olivia and Bryan Bryde, Andrea and Matt Taylor, and Allan Einar Carlsen; his grandchildren, Gillian and Mila Bryde, and Luke and Emma Taylor; as well as many relatives and extended family.

A visitation will be held from 4:30-7 p.m., Tuesday, May 27, at Mealey Funeral Home, 2509 Limestone Rd., Wilmington, DE 19808. A funeral liturgy will be held at 11 a.m., Wednesday, May 28, at St. John the Beloved Catholic Church, 907 Milltown Rd., Wilmington, DE 19808. There will be no public burial ceremony.

Contributions in Professor Carlsen’s memory may be made to Healthcare Theatre. Gifts can be made on the University of Delaware’s secure website, www.udel.edu/makeagift. Select “I’d like to search for a different option” (found under the continue button) and search for “Healthcare Theatre Gifts” to donate. Contributions can alternatively be sent to: University of Delaware, Gifts Processing, 83 East Main St., 3rd Floor, Newark, DE 19716.  Please make checks payable to “University of Delaware” and include on the memo line “In memory of Professor Allan E. Carlsen.”

To read his obituary or leave online condolences, visit Mealey Funeral Homes.