From October 15 to October 16, the Academy invited award-winning American Playwright and Musician Suzan-Lori Parks to campus for a school meeting presentation, book signing, question and answer session, and several workshops. Parks became the first African-American woman to win a Pulitzer Prize in Drama for her play Topdog/Underdog and studied creative writing under James Baldwin at Hampshire College.
In preparation for that school meeting, upperclassmen English classes read Topdog/Underdog and underclassmen read Father Comes Home From The War, another one of Parks’ works. English Teacher Mark Scandling advocated for her visit to campus and for her works to be read in classes. He said, “Both plays would speak to students as they would be inspired by someone charismatic and confident in themselves.”
Aviel Alexander ’25, who moderated the question and answers session for Parks, recalled, in his acting class, Director of Theater Catriona Hynds “made sure to give us context and information about what kind of person Suzan-Lori Parks was going to be,” he said. He continued, “I wasn’t as surprised as other people, however, I wasn’t completely expecting the level in which she was going to present herself.”
English Department Chair Anna Steim emphasized the positive feedback after Parks’ visit. She said, “Since the visit, I have heard from a great many community members – students and adults alike – who found Parks’ events are moving and inspiring.”
Scandling remembered feeling motivated after attending the Q&A. “I liked the way she explained the process of writing and doing it in small increments and allowing yourself to express yourself,” he said. “When she talks about calming down and listening to the spirits, it’s more or less the process about finding more of yourself within and tuning out the noise on the outside.”
Ms. Steim said, “The goal of the visit was not for community members to take away one thing in particular, but rather learn being in proximity with an experienced professional in the craft of writing and take away what speaks to them personally.”
As a student passionate about writing and theater, Alexander felt Suzan’s work really spoke to him. He said, “Her 365 Days/365 Plays is a real inspiration for me and I’m currently reading a very similar style of book in my English class called The Book of Delights by Ross Gay where the author writes almost every day. I already have a very free style of writing, and I feel her influence only fueled that idea.”