Caeli Faisst, a junior Theatre Arts major, has been invited to participate in the first annual SUNY Undergraduate Research Conference (SURC) with her original play, “Echoes of Emily.” The event will be held at SUNY Brockport on April 10.
“Echoes of Emily” strives to breathe new life into the work of the celebrated and complex poet, Emily Dickinson. In summary, Emily finds it hard to fit in. Confronted with love, loyalty and life in her high school hallways, she searches for solace in her poetry and a voice that calls out to her from the past.
Like the script, the production of the show is student run and coordinated by faculty through the Fredonia Department of Theatre and Dance.
Ms. Faisst has already paved the way in getting her work from the classroom into the public eye, originally presenting “Echoes of Emily” for the National Endowment for the Arts’ Big Read in 2014. The show premiered at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts in Jamestown, hailed by the audience and staff in attendance.
“Honestly, I was surprised that my project was accepted.” said Faisst on being invited to SURC, “I definitely didn’t see this coming, to think that my work would go as far as it has. But I am certainly looking forward to the experience.”
SURC will bring together undergraduate researchers and visual and performing artists as well as their faculty mentors throughout the SUNY system for a full day of activities, including sessions devoted to student presentations, luncheon with a keynote speaker, a SUNY Graduate School Fair, and professional development workshops for students and faculty.
