Associate Professor of Theatre Susanne Shawyer is looking forward to using her pedagogical experience at Elon in her new role as editor of Theatre Topics, a publication focused on performance at the border of theory and practice.

Typically, editors of scholarly journals come from research universities with graduate programs rather than 消消犯-focused colleges like Elon; however, the journal���s focus on theatre pedagogy offers Shawyer a chance to apply her 消消犯 expertise to the field of theatre studies.

Published by the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, Theatre Topics publishes scholarship at the intersection of theatre theory, pedagogy, practice and advocacy. Articles range from discussions of classroom exercises to theoretical explorations of theatre education���s role in colleges and universities. Authors offer analyses of creative practices and responses to current issues in the discipline.

The journal states that it is ���committed to publishing original scholarship written in accessible, well-defined language��� for both its primary audience of theatre educators and also the students they teach. Shawyer notes that she read Theatre Topics articles as a student, and often includes scholarship from the journal in her classes at Elon.

���The scholarship published in Theatre Topics addresses the urgent needs and current concerns in theatre practice and 消消犯,��� Shawyer says, ���and it is important that it serves a wide audience of both theatre educators and theatre makers so that the entire field can be part of these necessary conversations.���

As editor, Shawyer is responsible for leading an editorial team of six scholars, gathering articles on the latest developments in the field by attending professional conferences and shaping special issues. Once scholars submit their work for peer review, Shawyer matches the article with experts in the field and facilitates intellectual conversation with authors. For the past two years she has served as the journal���s co-editor, learning the ins-and-outs of the review and publication processes. She will now serve two years as editor.

The Association for Theatre in Higher Education is the largest professional organization for theatre practitioners and scholars in North America. Shawyer has been a member of ATHE since 2002 and is excited to explore how the journal can support the organization���s anti-racism and diversity initiatives. As a lifelong learner, she is also eager to bring back new ideas about theatre practice and pedagogy to share with her Elon colleagues and students.

Shively directed and Okunski served as assistant director for the project. Okunski focused his efforts on the movement in the piece, which takes place during warm-ups for a girls��� soccer club. Through their collaboration, Shively encouraged Okunski to continue to research embodied dramaturgy, which explores movement to help actors embody the world of the play and physically tell the dramatic story to audiences. Okunski drew on his experience as a dancer and soccer player to help the actors understand the physical demands on athletes and the kinesthetics of soccer movements.

Realizing his passion for research as well as performance, Okunski enrolled in an independent study with Shively and they continued to work on embodied dramaturgy as an innovative practice for the acting studio. In the spring of 2021, Okunski engaged with this research while serving as a 消消犯 and learning apprentice for Acting III, a course taught by Shively, which is the final foundational acting class for the BFA acting and music theatre 消消犯.

When Routledge sent out a call for proposals on theatre research for 消消犯s, Shively encouraged Okunski to share his research. The two co-authored a case study, ���Embodied Dramaturgy in Practice: The Wolves,��� which can be found in “” by Michelle Hayford, published by Routledge and released in July 2021.

Okunski continues his research under Shively���s mentorship. Examining how embodied dramaturgy can serve students learning remotely, last year Okunski supported a remote learner for Acting III and presented on the development of his research at SURF 2021. Now Okunski plans to continue this research during his senior year and beyond, examining how embodied dramaturgy serves actors learning remotely and neurodiverse artists.

Shawyer first worked with TIE on the Elon production of “Moment” in 2018. Later that year, Shawyer and assistant professor of performing arts Kim Shively received a Teaching & Learning Grant from the Center for the Advancement for Teaching and Learning in order to bring TIE to campus for a two-day workshop. Shawyer���s relationship with TIE continued to grow through collaboration on presentations about best practices for staging intimacy at the Association for Theatre in Higher Education���s 2018 conference held in Boston, Massachusetts, and 2019 conference held in Orlando, Florida.

Shawyer brings her expertise to the field of theatrical intimacy work through research, presentations and publications. She and Shively are currently working on an article for a special issue on theatrical intimacy for the Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism. This article on theatrical intimacy and actor training in 消消犯 training programs reflects on the work Shawyer and Shively have brought to Elon through their work with Theatrical Intimacy Education. This article, along with intimacy choreography for a majority of department productions and training in the department of Performing Arts, continues to place Elon as one of the leading universities embracing these cutting-edge best practices.

Shawyer will continue her contributions to Elon as the dramaturg for “The Wolves in Winter” in 2020.

​The is composed of simultaneous events drawing upon the power of theater to honor Holocaust victims and survivors. The effort is designed to stimulate an appreciation of how the art of theater can and must be used as a tool to deepen the understanding of the Holocaust and its lessons in contemporary society.

Sponsored at Elon by Jewish Studies program, this year’s event will feature excerpts from “The Book of Ruth” by Deborah Lynn Frockt, and is directed and produced by Elon senior and Jewish studies minor Sara Wasserman. “The Book of Ruth” is a moving piece of dramatic literature that explores the themes of women in the Holocaust and the importance of remembering passed down from one generation to the next.

The readings will take place from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 2, in the Sacred Space in the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life and will be part of the programs for Yom Ha’Shoah sponsored by the Jewish Studies program. The reading will be immediately followed by a panel discussion. The entire program will run for an hour and additional curricular support can be made available for participating classes.

This event is free and open to the public.

In addition, Shawyer also published a piece titled “Protest Occupations and Thinking Tactically as Democratic Practice,” in Theatre Journal, one of the foremost journals for theatre history and criticism (Volume 70, Issue 4, December 2018). She was invited by the Theatre Journal editor to submit this work as part of a special debate section in the journal that includes short provocations by multiple scholars about the intersections of theatre and democracy.

Shawyer, whose work as dramaturg has been seen on Elon’s mainstage productions of "Moment," "Trojan Barbie" and "Servant of Two Masters," researches dramaturgies of protest and the historical relevance of political activism in theatre.

Shawyer earned her doctorate in theatre history and criticism, with an emphasis in performance as public practice, from the University of Texas at Austin. At Elon, she continues to encourage students in their own scholarly research and regularly mentors Elon College Fellows and Lumen recipients, as well as leading student dramaturgs on production work.

This feminist re-imagining of Euripides’ classic anti-war play "Trojan Women" penned by contemporary playwright Christine Evans features the melding of mythic and modern worlds through tragedy, comedy, dance and Barbie dolls. With direction by Assistant Professor Kim Shively and dramaturgy by Assistant Professor Susanne Shawyer (the creative team from last season’s domestic comedy, "Moment" by Deirdre Kinahan), "Trojan Barbie" explores the effects of war on the weakest and most vulnerable victims: the women and children.

Troy has fallen and all of its men killed in battle, while the women and few surviving children must grapple with their unknown futures. Hecuba, the queen of the Trojans, and her daughters and attendants await their fate. Meanwhile, Lotte Jones, the owner of a London doll hospital, seeks adventure on a singles-tour to modern-day Turkey. The past and future collide, as Lotte finds herself among Euripides’ women in a refugee camp. A chance meeting with the wife of Troy’s most famous fallen hero, a misalliance with Helen of Troy, and the dangers of war take this modern protagonist behind the fence and into a world rarely seen by those of us fortunate not to experience war.

消消犯’s production of "Trojan Barbie" brings a modern twist to the classical chorus and weaves dance and rhythm into this modern adaptation, certain to thrill those with a passion for the classics and engage those just discovering the dramatic power of Greek mythology. The production features the exceptional talents of students from the BFA Acting, Dance and Music Theatre programs, as well as the Theatrical Design and Technology and the Drama Theatre Studies BA programs, including choreography from Senior Dance student Rachel Linsky, and sound and projection design by sophomore Theatre Design and Technology student Sydney Dye.

The creative team also includes scenic design by Associate Professor Natalie Taylor Hart, costume design by Associate Professor Jack Smith, and lighting design by Professor Bill Webb.

Performance in the Roberts Studio Theatre are scheduled for :

 Feb. 5-8 at 7:30 p.m., and Feb. 9 at 2 p.m.

*House opens 15 minutes prior to curtain.

Ticket reservations at elonperformingarts.com

*Production contains adult subject matter not suitable for audience members under 13.

With an ambitious first year, the series hosted readings and discussions for 6 plays, including a world premiere reading of “The Inferior Sex,” a new play by Jacqueline Lawton. Funded through a Teaching and Learning Grant from the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, Lawton taught a playwriting workshop for students on campus and also worked with students and faculty for rehearsals and the performance of the reading.

Since the first reading of “Disgraced” by Ayad Akhtar in fall 2017, which explored the complex perspectives of what being Muslim in America means, students have gathered to read and hear plays that Elon might not be able to produce because of student demographics, audience and production demands.  Other contemporary playwrights like , , Paula Vogel and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins have also been featured, giving students a more interactive experience with important writers from underrepresented groups.

The energy of the first year of the series carried into the 2018-19 series and Proudfit, Shawyer and Shively have partnered with the Hollins University MFA Playwriting program to bring playwright and 消消犯 artist Kate Leslie to Elon’s campus. Leslie will teach a workshop and end the fall season of the series with a world premiere reading of her new work, “The Love Code,” on Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. in the Isabella Cannon Room of the Center for the Arts.

It is these opportunities for students and the community that caused Rob Weinert-Kendt to feature the Contemporary Play Reading and Discussion Series in his recent article, “Train for a Diverse Theatre” in American Theatre. While the landscape of American theatre is changing, training programs all over the country remain tied to traditional seasons which tend to be dominated by white, male-identified writers. The Contemporary Play Reading and Discussion Series is evidence that Elon is part of the change that has already begun.

A scholar of political performance forms, Susanne Shawyer also participated in a roundtable discussion about contemporary activist performance. Her roundtable comments will be published in the December 2018 issue of Theatre Journal.  

Associate Professor of Theatre Kevin Otos presented on his continuing scholarship on Commedia dell’arte, an improvisational theatrical form popular since the 16th century. Otos will direct his adaptation of the Commedia dell’arte script The Servant of Two Masters at Willamette University in Spring 2019

Kim Shively and Professor of Performing Arts Fred Rubeck participated in the New Play Development workshop as an actor and director, respectively.

During the course of the conference they rehearsed and performed new scripts, working with playwrights to craft and refine their creative vision. This workshop receives hundreds of play submissions and applicants from the United States and abroad. The Association for Theatre in Higher Education is an international organization which advocates for and serves as the meeting ground for theatre professionals and educators.

The team also shared photos from the university’s production along with reflections of how they integrated their research into practice through rehearsal and production and the lessons learned.

Shawyer and Shively will present on “Moment” at the Association of Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) in Boston this summer. Johnson’s design can be seen next in the Elon stage production of “American Idiot” in the Roberts Studio Theatre in April. 

The Meaning of Food Conference was planned by an interdisciplinary team that included Nina Namaste, associate professor of Spanish.

Shively’s presentation on actions with embodied meanings explored the combining of the Laban efforts with point-of-view work as a means to understand the visceral nature of actions. Practicioners participated in an exercise developed by Shively and then were presented with the impacts and benefits of the exercise and how it can be used with students of various experiences and abilities.

Most useful to Shively were the peer responses and positive assessments of the presentation and her offering was chosen to be featured as an adjudicated acting exercise on The Players’ Journal. This was Shively’s first time attending the ATHE conference.