Preeshl was invited to conduct research on the mystery of the paucity of senior women in Shakespeare’s plays in contrast to the abundance of women in the professional theatre of Commedia dell’arte at “Thresholds of Change: Modernity & Transformation in the Mediterranean, 1400-1700” in this year's The National Endowment of Humanities Summer Seminar.
The National Endowment of Humanities has selected Artemis Preeshl, visiting assistant professor of performing arts, for the summer seminar “Thresholds of Change: Modernity & Transformation in the Mediterranean, 1400-1700” to be held this summer.
Preeshl was invited to conduct research on the mystery of the paucity of senior women in Shakespeare’s plays in contrast to the abundance of women in the professional theatre of Commedia dell’arte at The National Endowment of Humanities Summer Seminar in June and July 2018. This Institute supports the development of present and future higher education instructors of humanities to infuse Mediterranean content for undergraduate comparative surveys, Mediterranean modules, semester-long or quarter-long courses, or special topical seminars on world cultures, civilizations, globalization and/or modernization. culture, and development of Mediterranean Studies syllabi or bibliography of primary or secondary sources, as well as compilation of digital visual sources databases.
Preeshl will center her interdisciplinary research on the deep and meaningful impact of the professional actress on the stage and the presence, treatment, or absence of older female characters during the transformation of the Mediterranean in the early modern era. Preeshl and leading and emerging scholars Institute Director Kiril Petkov convened this seminar, which includes Visiting Humanities Faculty Palmira Brummett, Roger Davis, Eric Dursteler, Molly Greene, Daniel Gullo, Karla Mallette, Nabil Matar, James McGregor, Ronald Musto, Clifford Rogers and David Wacks and will incorporate materials from the Hill Museum and Manuscript Library in Collegeville, Minnesota. This library contains the widest-ranging collection of pre-modern and early modern Mediterranean primary sources in the United States.
The ultimate objective of the “Thresholds of Change: Modernity & Transformation in the Mediterranean, 1400-1700” Institute is to underscore the impact of Mediterranean matters in the undergraduate and graduate courses and seminars to increase understanding of the impact of modernization, hybridity, transnationalism, acculturation, connectivity, and globalization on society today. By investigating the development different character types in Shakespeare and Commedia dell’arte, Preeshl intends to raise awareness about female characters in the Mediterranean by synthesizing research on professional actresses in Mediterranean Studies in the Early Modern era with trends toward increasing the value of seniors in society and women in performance.
As a visiting assistant professor of performing arts, Preeshl teaches acting, movement, dialects, and improv, co-directed Instant Laugher, coached dialects and verse for Elon’s “Twelfth Night,” and reconstructed Anna Sokolow’s lost dance, “Trois Morceaux,” for the Spring Dance Concert. Since Preeshl joined Elon University, she gave a lecture on “Kate Chopin: Yesterday and Today” and screened her film “Inachevé” at Fatima Jinnah Women’s College and directed Shakespeare scenes and monologues for Theater Wallay in Islamabad, Pakistan as a Fulbright Senior Theatre Specialist.