The College of the Arts is proud to continue the acclaimed Thomas Schroth Visiting Artist Series with virtual presentations this spring dedicated to the College's commitment to celebrating diversity within the Arts.
The next guest speaker of this year's series is actor and director Schele Williams.
Williams will participate in a question and answer session on Thursday, February 18, 2021 from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. via Zoom. Admission to the event is FREE, however reservations are required.
To RSVP to attend, please visit the link below:
Á½ÐÔÉ«ÎçÒ¹ Schele Williams
Schele Williams is a Brooklyn-based director committed to cultivating new musicals and devised work. Upcoming projects include the revival of AIDA for Disney Theatrical Group, MANDELA: THE MUSICAL and INDIGO. She has directed at regional theatres and festivals across the country including NAMT, NYMTF and Theatreworks Palo Alto. Schele also re-conceived and directed the MOTOWN National Tour.
Passionate about pairing social justice with the arts, Schele is a founding member of Black Theatre United, an organization committed to dismantling systemic racism on our streets and stages. She has directed numerous Broadway events for social justice including The People's State of the Union (starring Common, Andra Day, John Legiuzamo, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes), Uprising of Love (starring Sting and Patti LuPone), Defying Inequality (starring Liza Minnelli and Ben Vereen, for which she received a New York City proclamation), and From Broadway to Bourbon Street a benefit for the victims of Hurricane Katrina (starring Bernadette Peters and David Hyde Pierce).
Schele is the director for the NYU Law School's Center of Diversity Inclusion and Belonging's bespoke plays for Fortune 500 companies. She also serves as Chairman of the Board for Broadway Inspirational Voices. Schele's children's book Your Legacy will be released in October.
Á½ÐÔÉ«ÎçÒ¹ the Thomas Schroth Visiting Artist Series
Since 2001, the Thomas Schroth Visiting Artist Series has presented guest artists respected in the field of theatre, dance, visual arts, music and architecture including such noted artists as Tony award-winners Stephen Schwartz, the composer of "Wicked," "Into the Woods" and more; "Next to Normal" actress Alice Ripley; the Grammy-winning Emerson String Quartet; postmodern minimalist artist Richard Tuttle; artists and fashion designers Ruben and Isabel Toledo; the internationally acclaimed dance company, Ballet Florida; and actor, dancer and arts advocate Ben Vereen and the Limon Dance Group, just to name a few.
The Schroth series was established by Cecile Draime and her late husband, Max, of Warren, Ohio, to honor their dear friend Thomas Schroth (1922-1997). A noted regional architect, Schroth designed the Butler Institute of Art’s Trumbull museum in Howland, as well as numerous other award-winning projects. Thomas Schroth spent his life in Niles, Ohio, as a prominent architect and inveterate collaborator in the artistic life of the Mahoning Valley and Northeast Ohio. A world traveler, he saw human creativity as a window framing human experience. The Thomas Schroth Visiting Artist Series brings diverse views through that window to the Kent campus and community.
The events are always free and open to the public.
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Media Contact:
Joni Koneval, 330-672-0116, jkoneval@kent.edu