Sniffing Name Tags

The title comes from my description of a certain behavior I often witnessed at conferences. Two conference attendees are approaching each other in a hotel hallway or on the exhibit floor. One of the attendees (the distance determined by their eyesight) looks at the other’s face. If they do not immediately recognize the person, theyContinue reading “Sniffing Name Tags”

Deconstructing the Year

What’s your favorite month of the year? Why? One of the things I focused on when teaching postmodernism and deconstruction was looking at the negative space, at what isn’t there. This is not to be confused with liminal space, or the space in between things. A google search suggests a door may be considered aContinue reading “Deconstructing the Year”

Fish Out of Water?

Tell us about a time when you felt out of place. Fish Out of Water? Stranger in a Strange Land? Is there another phrase for not belonging? I know there’s Yank in Eugene O’Neill’s The Hairy Ape who decides if things belong, and whether he belongs or not. The FOUW/SIASL is an excellent device forContinue reading “Fish Out of Water?”

Leader of the Pack (Vroom Vroom)

Do you see yourself as a leader? I read this prompt and said, “Well, yeah!” That was, of course, after the song lyric and motorcycle smoke cleared from my brain. As a college professor and theatre director, I naturally took the lead with classes of students and casts of actors. In the early days ofContinue reading “Leader of the Pack (Vroom Vroom)”

Exotic and Alien

Describe your most memorable vacation. Usually I didn’t have a vacation—not precisely. Since around 1991, I attended the Association of Theatre in Higher Education (almost every year for a while there) and, since they held it in the summer, those trips also included a vacation element. Depending on the location, I would see Broadway showsContinue reading “Exotic and Alien”