One of the privileges of being Dean is the chance to learn about what is going on across the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences. On Thursday, April 1, I attended opening night for the Department of Theatre and Dance’s, Evening of Beckett, and the performance was provocative.

Jessie Merron in "Play"

Directed by Bill Largess, the production was a collection of one-act plays by Nobel Prize-winning Irish writer, dramatist and poet, Samuel Beckett. You may be familiar with Beckett’s full-length play, Waiting for Godot, and you may know that as Beckett’s career went on, his work became more sparse, reflected in the visually evocative elements of his one act plays.

Senior Theatre Major Ruth Hollinger performed Not I, with a spotlight on her mouth only, the rest of her figure and the stage in blackness. In Play, actors Tim Caron, Rachel Johnson, and Jessie Merron gave superb performances from the neck up—they remained inside three separate urns with only their head showing for the entire act. The demanding roles in these performances alluded to the myths of long ago as well as contemporary stresses.

Dean Barratt with Theatre and Dance honor students in the audience

What I really took away from Evening of Beckett was how incredibly talented our GW students are. Several of the students—including stage manager Rebecca Naeder, a double-major in Political Science and Theater—are supported as Presidential Scholars in the Arts, which offers several $15,000 scholarships in fine arts, theater, and dance to help bring prospective students to GW and engage them in the arts.

These students are outstanding, sophisticated, and performing at an engaging level well beyond their years. I felt so privileged to be a part of it!