Elon Performing Arts faculty present research at national conference

Elon’s Department of Performing Arts enjoyed a strong presence at the Association for Theatre in Higher Education’s annual conference in Boston in August.

Assistant Professor of Theatre Susanne Shawyer and Assistant Professor of Performing Arts Kim Shively partnered with Theatrical Intimacy Education and presented on best practices for staging intimacy and violence in a university setting, using Elon’s recent production of “Moment” by Deirdre Kinahan, directed by Shively in Winter 2018, as an example.

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.