This publication highlights the intersection of theatre theory, pedagogy, practice and advocacy.
Elon University Department of Performing Arts congratulates Associate Professor of Theatre Susanne Shawyer on becoming co-editor of the prestigious Theatre Topics journal.
This publication highlights the intersection of theatre theory, pedagogy, practice and advocacy. It includes articles on methods of approaching the acting classroom, and often poses theoretical questions on the importance of theatre education’s role in colleges and universities. It strives to continue to create change for the continuous development of theatre production.
Shawyer says Theatre Topics is an ideal way for theatre educators to “seriously reflect on their role in creating, maintaining, or changing the theatre and entertainment industries.”
As Shawyer steps into her new role, she notes that this honor comes with a lot of responsibility. As co-editor, she is in charge of gathering articles for the journal by attending professional conferences to encourage professionals to submit their work for peer review. Once in the peer review process, Shawyer plays matchmaker and pairs the article with an expert in the field for revision, notes, and in-depth intellectual conversation. In the final steps of the publishing process Shawyer writes introductory notes for the journal.
In this position Shawyer’s goal is, “to provide thought-provoking, relevant, and useful articles that will help theatre professionals and teachers think deeply about performance, theatre education, and their own creative practices.”
Shawyer is enthused about this next step in her career since editors of Theatre Topics often come from research universities with graduate programs, rather than teaching-focused colleges like Elon. Shawyer is grateful for the many opportunities to think about teaching at Elon, through seminars hosted by the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning and the Center for Engaged Learning. She prides herself on being a lifelong learner and is excited she has the chance to learn more about the wide practice of theatre in her new role. She hopes she can bring back new ideas about theatre practice and pedagogy to Elon.
Theatre Topics is one of two journals published by the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, the largest professional organization for theatre practitioners and scholars in North America. Shawyer has been a member of ATHE since 2002 and says that editing the journal now “is a way to give back to an organization that has been a professional home for almost two decades.”
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