Creativity on the edge of artistry.(In Her Own Words)

"What IS that? Act One, Scene Two?"

As far back as I can remember, my father would say this to me whenever I struck a particularly dramatic pose or uttered a particularly dramatic phrase. I suppose it should have come as no surprise that I would grow up to be a performing artist.

For the past 28 years, I have been privileged to be involved within a profession that I consider to be lofty. I have seen some people, both on and off the stage, forever changed by their involvement with the theatre. This is my calling. This is my work.

Being a performing artist requires me to continue to fight for authenticity--to keep my inner child alive and well. My scholarship needs to be active--it needs to be immediate--in order to keep that edge sharpened. Acting can tap into places that are private and sacred, but necessary to keep the tools in working order.

These inherent needs sometimes fly in the face of academe, where scholarship generally takes another form. As my endless struggle to fit into a pre-determined academic mold threatened to dull my previously sharpened edge, I became curious whether anyone else was feeling this struggle.

Is anyone else on the edge of artistry?

To find out, Salve Regina University professors Dr. Donna Harrington-Lueker in journalism and Dr. Carol Gibbons in mathematics and I asked this question of our female colleagues: