Bringing Vision to the Arts: Interdisciplinary Students Direct Plays in Fowler Black Box Theatre

Kashi Johnson ’93, professor and chair of the theatre department, said Ripa always put student opportunity first and sought out students from across the university. Johnson was an undergraduate when Ripa cast her as the lead in a production of Samuel Beckett’s tragi-comedy “Endgame.” Ripa’s influence inspired her to become an actor, director and professor.

Directing gives students experience in “artistic leadership at the highest level in theatre,” Johnson said.

The department now offers two directing classes: Directing and Advanced Directing, designed to create hands-on opportunities for students from a variety of backgrounds and academic disciplines.

Unlike some B.A. or B.F.A theatre programs, Lehigh’s curriculum is structured to welcome students outside of the arts. Interdisciplinary students, Johnson said, bring more well-rounded and “whole” participation and vision to the arts.

During the 2023-2024 academic year, 568 students who were non-theatre majors participated in productions through theatre courses, such as acting, stagecraft, sound design and costume construction — all of which directly support the department’s production season, Johnson said.

“Theatre isn’t Just for Theatre People”

The directing classes in particular are where students are “taken under the wing of the department” and form strong mentorships with professors across artistic disciplines.

“We believe that the best directors come out of doing it all: acting, designing, producing and dramaturgy,” Johnson said. “You learn by getting your hands dirty and figuring out how all the pieces fit together. It’s really about stepping up and finding your voice and taking risks and learning how to lead creative teams.”

Johnson noted that participation by a wider range of students with varied academic backgrounds results in richer work produced by the department.

“These students also remind us that theatre isn't just for theatre people. It’s a way of connecting across disciplines, across experiences and across lives,” she said.

The unofficial "directing track” includes: Directing, Advanced Directing, and assisting a professor with directing a main stage show in the Diamond Theatre. Once students complete these three steps, they can be vetted by the tenure-track faculty to direct a main stage season show.

Morgan said there’s a sense of pride she feels for her directing that she can’t find anywhere else, and wants to keep producing her work on a larger scale.

“There's something so unique about directing and theatre that is inherently a collaborative space,” Morgan said. “That makes it mean so much, and it makes the stakes so high.”

The Plays

“Tuesdays & Sundays,” a one-act play by Daniel Arnold and Medina Hahn, was inspired by a story that took place in 1887 in the farming community of Margate on Prince Edward Island.

“Fefu and Her Friends” is a one-act play by María Irene Fornés that follows a group of eight women gathered at the home of their friend Fefu. As conflicts unfold between the old friends, they struggle to define who they are and what it means to be a woman in a patriarchal society.

Story by Sydney Weaver '25