Associate Professor of Theatre

Just Visiting...Sharon Green came to Davidson as a visiting theatre professor in 1999, never expecting to stay. "It was my first job out of graduate school!" But when a permanent faculty position became open, she threw her hat into the ring.

Theatre is a Liberal Art
The theatre faculty is still getting used to its renovated facilities in Cunningham Theatre Center. Green says that Davidson's resources for theatre, music and visual art show that the college "recognizes art as an integral part of a liberal arts education. Theatre is about learning a set of skills, just as other disciplines are," she says. "The students learn to work in a group, delegate responsibility, collaborate and set goals-not to mention developing the confidence to field the unexpected problems that come with live theatre!"

Theatre and Justice
Green's expertise is in theatre and social justice. She directed Clifford Odets' Depression-era play, Waiting for Lefty. Then she directed Nine Parts of Desire by the Iraqi-American playwright Heather Raffo. The play, based on Raffo's conversations with Iraqi women, offers an intimate examination of their lives at the dawn of the 21st century. "As a politically committed scholar and artist, I wanted to engage with an issue that is important for our times," says Green.

The Community Jumps In
When she began to consider broadening the community impact of her production, she reached out to her colleagues, including Chris Alexander, McGee Director of the Dean Rusk International Studies Program. He jumped at the idea, as did Professor of History Jonathan Berkey and Assistant Professor of Arabic Rebecca Joubin, among others. The result was a multi-faceted community event, with Middle Eastern scholars, panel discussions, music and an exhibit of works by Helen Karam, an acclaimed Lebanese artist whose work describes feminist issues and human rights. Green says that Davidson makes such collaboration possible: "A theatre production can be an integral part of a community dialogue-because so many others are ready and able to participate."