Author Archives: Sharyn

Mime Field

Posted on July 2, 2017 by Sharyn

      The internet anger machine has finally discovered the San Francisco Mime Troupe (SFMT), a political theatre group that has been active since 1959. Over the July 1 weekend, the Troupe premiered their new play, Walls, about an unlikely … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Pop Culture, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Know Your Rights & Act Them Out

Posted on June 25, 2017 by Sharyn

I apologize if this post seems a little stale in terms of the news cycle, but I’ve been pondering it for about a month and now that my blog is back up and running, it’s time to discuss the performance … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Sports | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Back to the Blog

Posted on June 21, 2017 by Sharyn

And I am finally back to the blog. The rather long absence was due to the website being compromised and my links going to weird Russian sites and whatnot. Ugh. Fortunately, then-house tech at Casa Emerowsky has fixed everything up … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Fences…Meh?

Posted on April 10, 2017 by Sharyn

This is going to sound awfully petty, or snobbish, but I finally got around to watching Fences, the filmed adaptation of the August Wilson play from 2016. Directed by and starring Denzel Washington, it essentially adapts the 2010 Broadway revival in … Continue reading →

Posted in African American Lit, Pop Culture, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Drama is Always Relevant

Posted on April 3, 2017 by Sharyn

I’m teaching a new-to-me play in my Introduction to Drama course this semester: Death and the King’s Horseman (1975), by Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka. I feel quite ignorant for not having read any of his work before, but I am an Americanist, … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Teaching, Theatre | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Spreak in the Archives, Day 1

Posted on March 27, 2017 by Sharyn

My campus is (finally) on Spring Break (Spreak) this week, and I am spending much of it far away, in the hills of Western Massachusetts at Smith College for a research trip. I am investigating the papers of the Third … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Feminism, Politics, scholarship, Theatre | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Book Orders, How Do They Work?

Posted on March 13, 2017 by Sharyn

It’s that time of the semester–time to submit my textbook orders for the impossibly far-seeming Fall semester 2017. The pressure to get them in on time is pretty strong, since each department gets a stipend from the book store that … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Teaching, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

A New Native Son, Part 2

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Sharyn

Read Part 1 here As promised, I wanted to address a few more things regarding the proposed upcoming adaptation of Richard Wright’s Native Son. First, the way the novel links to our current political situation, and second, what Suzan-Lori Parks, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, African American Lit, Pop Culture | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

A New Native Son, Part I

Posted on February 27, 2017 by Sharyn

Content Note – discussion of fictional rape and murder follows. THIS IS NOT A DRILL, Y’ALL: Variety is reporting that Richard Wright’s novel Native Son will be adapted for film by Rashid Johnson and Suzan-Lori Parks. And I’m not sure I can effectively … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, African American Lit, Teaching | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Trumptuffe

Posted on February 20, 2017 by Sharyn

I was teaching the 17th century French play Tartuffe, by Molière, last week to students in my introduction to drama class. We got into a really interesting discussion about hypocrisy and why phony human beings irritate us so much. Why is … Continue reading →

Posted in Teaching, Theatre | Tagged , , | Leave a comment