Spring 2011 Issue - Lehman College

Sticks and Stones
September 6, 2011 – January 3, 2012
library had just been finished, and a new theatre building was underway.
My department of Speech and Theatre encouraged its majors
to be experimental and to develop leadership skills. While at Lehman,
I directed plays, starred in shows and dance recitals, and thoroughly
explored my theatrical talents. When the new Lehman Center was
opened, I was hired to usher, and I witnessed extraordinary productions.
My education was well-rounded and globally focused.
This upcoming exhibition in the Lehman College Art Gallery
will feature a group of artists who employ natural materials in
their work. Trees, straw, mud, stones, thorns, and even octopi
highlight their respect for the natural world. Each work invites
the viewer to experience the physicality of the materials.
Works by Barbara Andrus, Barbara Cooper, Michael Shaughnessy,
Tracy Heneberger, Raquel Rabinovich, and Cui Fei will
be included.
After graduation, I moved to Milan, Italy, where I worked in the performing
arts industry. I performed on a nationally syndicated television
show, appeared in Vogue Italia and in television commercials and
videos, and danced for a troupe. My experience at Lehman prepared
me to meet the world. When I returned to New York, I went into a
master’s program in theatre at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
I completed my Ph.D. in theatre at the University of Colorado at
Boulder. During that time, I wrote the award-winning play Doors,
which was showcased at the New Federal Theatre in New York.
I went on to write several other plays while teaching theatre and
speech communication at Front Range Community College and the
University of Colorado. Today, I live in Atlanta and Colorado, publishing
books and articles, and pursuing my research in African American
theatre and society.
So many of my accomplishments can be attributed to the lively and
stimulating education I received at Lehman. I miss the intimacy of the
small campus combined with the worldly outreach. I grew up to be an
artist and a scholar and am always proud to say, “I am a graduate of
Herbert H. Lehman College in the Bronx, New York!”
Dr. Jocelyn A. Brown
www.capinc-communicationandpresentationdevelopment.com
(Above) Two Spinners (2010) by
Barbara Andrus.
Mane and Moon (2008),
two works by Tracy Heneberger.
Our apologies
to David Willinger (‘72, ‘75) whose spotlight
appeared in the Fall 2010 / Winter 2011
issue of Lehman Today (“Playwright, Director,
Theatre Professor Learned What He
Was ‘Born to Do’ at Lehman). The person
whose photo appeared with the story bears
no resemblance to the real David Willinger
(right).
Lehman Today/Spring 2011 33