This year, Steven Sapp and Mildred Ruiz-Sapp, poets, performers, musicians, directors, and co-founders of the New York theater company UNIVERSES, co-taught a course and developed an ensemble for a theatrical production with the assistance of Northwestern University.
“We were really integrated as faculty, which I appreciated a lot,” says Sapp. “It’s always great to meet another generation of young artists coming up, I think that keeps us fresh and alive. … Just having the freedom and the resources to create is a beautiful thing.”
This opportunity was made possible by the newly developed Astere E. Claeyssens Artist in Residence at Northwestern’s School of Communication. Established with an anonymous $3 million gift made in memory of Claeyssens, the initiative provides visiting artists with a yearlong professorship dedicated to expanding the diversity of the school’s theatrical works and curriculum.
“The country is diverse,” says Sapp. “The student body is diverse. The field is changing. There’s a lot more people of color in charge of regional theaters now [than] ever before. So [considering that], I think the way students are taught or who is to actually interacting with them has to be a lot more diverse. This program in particular [achieves that].”
Throughout the duration of their residence, Sapp and Ruiz-Sapp built upon their own research and established the ensemble for the production “In the Beginning There Was House,” which is inspired by the life and work of Frankie Knuckles, a Chicago house music legend.
They also did ethnographic research, during which they met and talked with people in the Chicago house music scene to further explore where the genre was once thriving.
Additionally, the pair co-taught a course on the history and development of ensembles. Through the class, students were able to hear firsthand business and management perspectives for pursuing a career in theater.
This aspect was incredibly beneficial, as students learned things like contract negotiation, developing relationships, and touring, says Tanya Palmer, MFA, assistant dean and executive artistic director in the School of Communication.
“I know the students got a lot out of [the business facet] too, understanding a little bit more about both the idea that you can make a living as an independent artist and do the work that is meaningful to you,” she says.
Overall, the artist-in-residence program enhances an overarching objective to bolster student body diversity, says Henry D. Godinez, MFA, Carlos Montezuma Professor and chair of the Department of Theatre.
“I’ve always been a big believer that in the academic setting, if a student sees themselves represented in the faculty, they’ll feel like [the university is] a place where they’re welcome, where they’re invited.”
