Before starting his undergraduate studies at Washington State University, Whitmore ran a movie house in his hometown.
As a doctoral student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Whitmore wrote his dissertation on William Saroyan and directed productions including The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds by Paul Zindel and Epiphany by Lewis John Carlino.
[9] After finishing his undergraduate studies, Whitmore taught for three years at Highline Community College in Des Moines, Washington.
Soon after, he moved to The State University of New York at Buffalo to be dean of the Faculty of Arts and Letters and professor of theatre from 1985 to 1990.
Whitmore joined The University of Texas at Austin in 1990 until 1996, where he served as dean of the College of Fine Arts and professor of theatre.