In this lecture and the subsequent workshop, we will explore how acting techniques build observational skills in order to read behavior embedded in nonverbal clues such as body language or vocal pitch changes. Actors for hundreds of years have known that deep communication is more than relaying information and that the art of listening, really listening with mind, body and emotion, is what allows an actor to be "in the moment". These simple techniques can be applied easily for use in any profession to enhance interpersonal and communication skills.

Graduate studies in Modern Languages and Cultures open up rewarding careers in Higher Education, Publishing, K-12 education, and corporate public relations. However, there seems to be a lack of information about what makes a successful application in a PhD program in the Modern Languages. We have found that even quite brilliant undergraduates are often ill-prepared for the application process, often for a lack of time or guidance. The French and Italian Department, together with German, Hispanic and Slavic, is organizing a one-day workshop for undergraduate students in the region, broadly defined as a 200-mile radius from Pittsburgh.

This event will bring to campus Matt Rebhorn, a faculty member in English at James Madison University, to discuss portions of his forthcoming book, Minding the Body: The Animate Body in Antebellum American Literature. As with our other colloquium events, attendants will have the opportunity to read a portion of Professor Rebhorn’s book in advance and then on the day of the event, Professor Rebhorn and two respondents, Nancy Glazener and Carol Bove, will each offer some brief remarks and responses, to be followed by a lively conversation.

The Welcome Table is the Department of Theatre Arts’ new production-based program dedicated to collaborations with artists of diverse heritages, the melding of artistic and critical practice, and community-academic partnerships. The Welcome Table serves as a theatre based forum through which the academy and the community can engage issues of diversity and social justice in our region, utilizing performance to mobilize the idea that difference is an inherent resource.