"I think about where my furniture will live," says Erin Tutcher (M.F.A., furniture design), gesturing towards the couch, mirror and table of her master's thesis collection, "and how the pieces will live with one another."

"Between 7th and 8th" (named after Manhattan's garment district) is the culmination of a sustained process. From conception and sketching through SolidWorks designs, material sourcing, fabrication and display, the pieces epitomize the depth and quality of Tutcher's SCAD experience.

Before coming to SCAD, Tutcher worked as an interior designer for a staging company in New York, staging furniture in opulent for-sale apartments. "I knew I needed to understand furniture better, so I decided to pursue my master's degree at SCAD."

"Between 7th and 8th" is currently on display at Cedar House Gallery in Savannah. The table and mirror are rich and strange. The fainting couch will take your breath away.

Erin Tutcher:

My thesis project transposes techniques of pleating from haute couture fashion into modern furniture design. I incorporated the idea of pleats into elements of each piece. My work tends to have angles and repeated forms. It's a combo of Art Deco and Hollywood Regency, and the organic lines of Art Nouveau. There's a new term, Neo Deco, that might describe my work too.

In haute couture you see fainting couches in dressing rooms as people are getting dressed. In Victorian England they tied corsets so tight that women fainted. I liked the drama of that, and wanted to create a fainting couch as a statement piece in my collection.

I designed and built the interior frame of the couch, did tab-and-slot construction, and had it CNC'd at SCAD. I brought the upholsterer a legless couch and said, don't upholster over the T-nuts, because that's how it's going to attach. The fabric is performance velvet.

The couch legs started as gnarly chunks of raw steel, 20 pounds each. The legs were also CNC'd, and had to be bolted to the machine leaving bolt holes in them. Instead of covering them with a metal plate, I turned spikes for them on the metal lathe. Once I turned them on the lathe, everyone in the shop got pumped, because I was making sharp, aggressive objects for the couch's feminine form. They're meant to look like studs, inspired by an Alexander McQueen shoe with a similar detail.

After the base was welded together I had it powder-coated. It was a challenge making sure everything fit and that the joints were strong enough. You can't have the welds break when people are sitting on it. Professor George Perez gave me key guidance.

The prongs are 3-D printed nylon that I painted with acrylic. When you sit on the couch with another person, its angles mean you face each other. It's a literal conversation piece.

The mirror frame began as a two-inch chunk of ash, five feet long and 80 pounds. I wanted the wood to have a finish where you could still see the grain of the curly ash. I pickled it with whitewash, then took a steamer and raised the wood grain, rubbed in wood grain filler with a palette knife, hand-rubbed gold pigment into the grain, sanded it, added more, sanded again, and finally, lacquer. It has a pearlescent, iridescent finish.

I designed the mirror so the center matches up directly to where the couch swoops in. The language of the mirror perfectly mimics the couch. It feels like they were meant for one another.

Learn more about SCAD furniture design.

Vibrance shines via research and resonance as the globally renowned SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film in Atlanta unveils the new exhibition "Derrick Adams: Patrick Kelly, The Journey," Jan. 14–Jul. 19, 2020.

"Patrick Kelly, The Journey" colorfully re-visits the archive — found at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York — of the late Patrick Kelly, the prolific and groundbreaking Mississippi-born artist, fashion designer, and the first American member of Paris' Chambre Syndicale du Pret-à-Porter, the prestigious governing body of the French ready-to-wear industry.

Derrick Adams is a Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary artist working in painting and sculpture as well as performance, video, and sound. His work focuses on the fragmentation and manipulation of structure and surface, exploring the shape-shifting forces of popular culture on self-image. Adams is a close friend of SCAD and was the featured lecturer at deFINE ART 2019. The artist is also a contributor to the upcoming "Jacob Lawrence: Lines of Influence" exhibition catalog, to be published by the university in February 2020.

In his research, Adams discovered a trove of correspondence, sketches, swatches, photographs, and other memorabilia, as well as a proposal for a book about Kelly's life written by his friend, the esteemed poet Maya Angelou. "Patrick Kelly, The Journey" references Kelly's legacy as a formalist who infused social context and humor into his creations. The exhibition presents Adams' abstract collages and sculptural works that incorporate Kelly's vintage clothing patterns, iconic fabrics, bold and colorful geometric forms, and embellishments. Kelly spent several formative years in Atlanta in the 1970s, and the exhibition highlights his connection to the city through a selection of his original, vintage pieces and memorabilia loaned by his friend Carol Martin, an Atlanta resident and former model.

"I admired Patrick's tenacity to get his name out there, back in the day, before clothing lines were even called brands," recalled Martin. "I was mesmerized by how he would make something you thought wouldn't work but it would always work. This exhibit is important because it will help people realize it's okay to think outside of the box. That's what Patrick did."

"Patrick Kelly, The Journey" is curated by Alexandra Sachs, executive director of SCAD FASH and Atlanta Exhibitions. It is presented as part of SCAD deFINE ART 2020, the university's annual program of exhibitions, lectures, and performances held Feb. 18–20 at locations in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia.

"Patrick Kelly, The Journey" highlights the university's ongoing mission to showcase emerging and established African American artists. In recent years, SCAD FASH and SCAD MOA have exhibited dynamic work by artists including Fred Wilson, Hank Willis Thomas, Carrie Mae Weems, Jacob Lawrence, Lorraine O'Grady, Radcliffe Bailey, Andre 3000, Toyin Ojih Odutola, and Stephen Burrows.

The exhibition exemplifies a significant aspect of SCAD FASH as a teaching museum, and the essential role it plays in helping prepare SCAD students for their creative careers. SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film celebrates fashion as a universal language, garments as important conduits of identity, and film as an immersive and memorable medium. Situated within the SCAD Atlanta location, SCAD FASH focuses on the future of fashion design, connecting conceptual and historical principles of dress. The museum welcomes visitors of all ages to engage with dynamic exhibitions, captivating films, and enriching events.

Visit scadfash.org.

"I'm always thinking about my paintings as 3-dimensional objects," says Adrienne Dixon (B.F.A., painting, 2011). "My intention is to make the materiality of the work as important as its pictorial illusions."

A graduate of Chopticon High School in Morganza, Maryland, Dixon counts Carmen Herrera, Ellsworth Kelly, and Josef and Annie Albers among her art world heroes. Her vibrant, widely-exhibited paintings are in collections including the Kentucky International Convention Center in Lexington, Chateau d'Orquevaux Permanent Collection in Orquevaux, France, and the private collection of Danai Gurira.

This year, Dixon's artistic process of transference has taken on new context. Limited-edition socks (and a complementary water bottle), based on her paintings, are currently for sale exclusively at Tad Café in the SCAD Museum of Art. They are functional and fun. Wear them and become part of the art.

Adrienne Dixon:

SCAD is a great place for thinking about design holistically. SCAD students work in interdisciplinary ways. In the SCAD painting program we were encouraged to contact professional artists to interview them about their studio practices, professional practices, and how they navigate their careers. I reached out to Monica Cook (B.F.A., painting, 1996) and we corresponded. Her work is so luscious, with an astonishing amount of detail. There are a lot of Monica's paintings on display in SCAD buildings. She's a total rock star.

Another illustrious graduate of the SCAD painting program, Michael Scoggins (M.F.A., painting, 2006) said, "If you have to have a day job, have a day job that does not deplete you. Work somewhere that fuels your practice, teaches you a skill, or inspires you."

Currently I'm the events director for a non-profit gallery and event space called Lexington Art League in Lexington, Kentucky. We're in the gothic revival Loudon House with 11,000 feet of gallery space. We hold an event called Woodland Art Fair where we bring in 60-70,000 people every August. My day job is a lot of work but I love it and it is rewarding.

The design for the socks and water bottle originated with a series of paintings I created called "Area/Matter." The patterns in "Area/Matter" came out of spaces I've encountered: a median strip, the ceiling of the D.C. Metro. A lot of my work is influenced by architecture. There was an interesting pitch in a room of a townhouse I was living in, so I made an observational drawing and thought about how I could play with the color palette, flipping it compositionally in different orientations.

The commission came from Alan Slattery (B.F.A., accessory design, 2016), who took my work and formatted the designs onto functional objects, a water bottle and a pair of socks. He sent the mock-ups to me, said what do you think, and I said, of course!

It's exciting to see the project come to fruition and the items be for sale at SCAD MOA. I want what I purchase to have a special place in either my wardrobe or my house. You cherish something more when you're in love with the color, or if it's a conversation piece. Who wants bland socks?

Adrienne Dixon photo: Dana Rogers

Banner image: Adrienne Dixon, "Don’t Do It VI" (detail), acrylic, glitter, and resin on panel, 2018.

Learn more about SCAD painting and visit SCAD MOA!

Lina Deeb Forrester (B.F.A., interior design) is standing beside "The Tree of Life" in Pepe Hall. The block-printed English pattern, drawn from Indian and Chinese motifs, is currently printed in Thailand by Kravet, the trade home furnishings industry leader with whom Deeb Forrester interned in 2019.

A linguist who speaks Indonesian, Arabic and Malaysian, Deeb Forrester served in the military before coming to SCAD: "I was thinking about going back to school, and learned that SCAD is ranked #1 for interior design. I came to Savannah, took my first tour and said, ‘Let's start this now!'"

Lina's international experience, collector's mentality, and fibers minor all informed her extraordinary selections from the Kravet archive, currently on display in Pepe Hall.

Lina Deeb Forrester:

Last year, Kravet Chief Creative Director Scott Kravet came to SCAD to lecture on the textiles from around the world that are in the Kravet archive. I was fascinated. Afterwards I introduced myself, and later emailed a follow-up. There was no actual archive internship position at the time. I was persistent. Eventually Kravet created the position to accommodate me!

I interned in the climate-controlled Kravet archive at their corporate office in Bethpage, Long Island for two and a half months. I was in frequent contact with the Kravet design studios including Lee Jofa, Kravet Couture, and Brunschwig and Fils. If they were looking for a piece with say, a specific bird, I'd look it up in the database of almost 40,000 items, find it, package it and send it to them so they could physically use the archival piece as inspiration for the creation of new designs.

As part of my internship last summer with Kravet, I helped curate an exhibition in New York called "Pattern & Process." I examined the boxes and drawers in the Kravet archive to select the best pieces. One of the oldest items in the archives is a Coptic weaving from Egypt from 200 B.C. To be able to touch it was mind-blowing. As a student, to do something I'd never done before and be given a leadership role really fulfilled my soul.

The items from the Kravet archive I selected to display here in Pepe Hall are glimpses into the depth and diversity of the Kravet holdings. Block printing is one of the oldest ways of creating images on fabric. "The Tree of Life" uses 365 different blocks interlocked like a puzzle to create one three-yard repeat pattern. When you look at the back you can see the variation in the pressure each artist applied to their blocks. There are obis from Japan, alongside shuttles from the 19th century that use silk and metallic threads. There are point papers from Orinoka Mills, originally one of the largest mills in the Philadelphia area. On the back each artist wrote the sizes and colors for the swatches, and how long it took them to work on a piece.

I had an incredible experience at Kravet, and I'm really happy that I'm able to translate the experience to this exhibition at Pepe Hall. It emphasizes how connected the world is via the art of textiles. An archive is a living thing.

Special thanks to Kravet Executive VP and co-owner Ellen Kravet, Kravet special projects manager Karen Lerman, and the entire Kravet team.

Learn more about SCAD fibers and SCAD interior design degree programs.

This Thursday, January 9, SCAD Hong Kong presents the sixth annual Fashion Showcase. Over thirty fashion designs will be showcased around SCAD Hong Kong in the heart of Sham Shui Po, including collections designed by students Ivy Lam (B.F.A., fashion) and Yasmin Baratova (B.F.A., fashion).

Design by Yasmin Baratova. Photo: Chester Siu.

New collections by top senior and graduate fashion students and recent alumni from across SCAD's four global locations are chosen to participate in the annual event. Each year, Fashion Showcase is curated by Michael Fink, Dean of SCAD's School of Fashion. The showcase is a reflection of SCAD's highly ranked degree programs.

In 2018, the prestigious Red Dot Design Rankings placed SCAD as the No. 1 university in the U.S. and in the top two universities in the Americas and Europe. Career preparation is woven into every fiber of the university, resulting in a superior alumni employment rate. According to a recent study, 99 percent of SCAD Class of 2018 alumni were employed, pursuing further education or both within 10 months of graduation. 

The annual Fashion Showcase demonstrates the university's dedication to prepare students to lead the ever-evolving world of style through a curriculum anchored in creative thinking and innovative technology. Providing a platform for students to connect with the industry's leading names, SCAD prepares students for the commercial world after graduation. 

Design by Ivy Lam. Photo: Katie Ulsh and Mathushaa Sagthidas.

Ivy Lam's collection "Bloom" was inspired by the Chinese phrase "floral world" (花花世界), symbolizing numerous types of flowers as a metaphor for our diverse society. An orchid is the focus for the design elements in terms of prints, style lines, shapes, forms, textures and layers. The concept defines self-expression and identity through the experimentation of hybridising different styles and silhouettes.

Yasmin Baratova's collection "HE CMOTPИ" embodies the resilient, rebellious and romantic spirit. The construction techniques, silhouettes, and prints originate from traditional and the Soviet references. The tactile human element is emphasized through crudely hand-embroidered and hand-painted details and rust dyeing.

"The collections highlighted in the Fashion Showcase 2020 are a true reflection of our comprehensive fashion curriculum, which is both professionally focused and intellectually rigorous," says Khoi Vo, Vice President of SCAD Hong Kong. "Each year, the designs we see at SCAD Hong Kong seem to be more innovative than the last. We hope this year's Fashion Showcase inspires both current and future SCAD students."

Learn more about SCAD Hong Kong.

One of the cornerstones of a SCAD education is gaining professional experience beyond the classroom. For architectural historians, for whom formal presentation skills are essential, this means participating at academic and professional conferences.

Fall quarter witnessed the architectural history department's highest number of student conference paper presentations, with three at the Southeast Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians (SESAH) annual meeting and two at the Society of American City and Regional Planning History (SACRPH) conference – a significant achievement.

Like design competitions for other majors at SCAD, conferences involve a competitive process of submission and selection. Students author a one-page proposal for a paper and submit it for consideration alongside proposals submitted by professionals and academics.

To prepare students for participation at a conference, the SCAD School of Building Arts hosts a "Peer Practice Session" dress-rehearsal. An important component of these sessions is to invite students as well as faculty from other departments to provide feedback. Faculty also present work at such sessions, and students experience the process of refinement based on peer feedback. Dr. Geoffrey S. Taylor, dean of the School of Building Arts, noted: "Peer Practice Sessions expose students to current research, demonstrate shared interests amongst the students and faculty from across our disciplines, model professional engagement, and create a dialog celebrating a curiosity for and the critical assessment of the built environment."

At SESAH, held in Greenville, South Carolina, three students, three faculty and two alumni all presented papers, and another alumnus was elected to the SESAH board of directors. Graduate students Madi Alspector (M.F.A., architectural history) and Monica Gann (M.F.A., architectural history) and undergraduate Clara Miller (B.F.A., architectural history) presented papers that grew out of their respective term papers from Chair Robin Williams' "Power and the Built Environment" winter 2019 research seminar. Madi spoke on "Driving Out Destruction: Preservation Activism and Highway Revolts" of the 1950s and ‘60s in American cities. Monica analyzed "The Power Dynamics of the Courtroom Layouts," an examination of how courtrooms have evolved in response to the professionalization of lawyers, and how the configurations of courtrooms may affect the perception of justice. Clara's talk on "Urban Carnage and Social Disempowerment: Buffalo's Failing Blight Removal Campaign" challenged the wisdom of demolishing thousands of historic houses in an effort to revitalize a city.

Faculty members served as mentors at the conferences, helping guide the students through the appropriate ways to hear papers in different concurrent sessions, making introductions to facilitate networking, and supporting presentations. At the SESAH conference it was especially gratifying for current students to interact with alumni Nathaniel Walker (M.A., architectural history, 2006), an assistant professor at the College of Charleston, Marisa Gomez Nordyke (B.F.A., architectural history, 2007), a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Ruben Acosta (M.F.A., architectural history, 2010), an architectural historian at the Florida State Historic Preservation Office.

SCAD at SESAH (left to right): Chair Robin Williams, Clara Miller, Madi Alspector, Monica Gann, alumnus Ruben Acosta, alumna Marisa Gomez Nordyke, Professor Patrick Haughey, Professor David Gobel and alumnus Nathaniel Walker.

Lean more about SCAD architectural history degree programs.

This week, SCAD presents its inaugural activation at NYC Jewelry Week, Nov. 18-24. NYC Jewelry Week is dedicated to promoting and celebrating the world of jewelry through educational and innovative focused programming.

SCAD will partner with leading furnishings and home decor company Industry West at their flagship store in Soho New York. The pop-up will include live demos and a workshop with SCAD jewelry professor Adam Grinovich. The activation will highlight the university's top ranked jewelry degree program offering both undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Fifteen-plus SCAD students and alumni will showcase their innovative designs, allowing visitors to view and purchase one-of-a-kind pieces and learn more about the cutting-edge program. In addition to the pop-up experience, SCAD will host events, faculty and alumni demonstrations, and tours of New York's top legacy brands throughout the week including a reception on the evening of Friday, Nov. 22. 

The SCAD x NYCJW pop-up and initiatives will showcase the creative success of SCAD students and alumni. SCAD has the largest and most comprehensive jewelry degree program in North America, the largest degree-granting program in the U.S. and is known for its 100% employment rate in the field of study.

SCAD jewelry students learn to shape works of art with an eye for the finest detail in the program, and collections are created for contemporary, luxury, and fine art markets and industries every year. Within a 13,800-square-foot studio environment named Fahm Hall at SCAD Savannah, jewelry students have access to cutting edge resources and software including laser welders, casting machines, Orion arc welding systems, wax printers, and Roland JWX-10 milling machines. Fahm also includes a certified Rhino Fablab allowing students the opportunity to achieve Rhino certification through the program. 

Through rigorous focus on career preparation and a cross-disciplinary curriculum approach, the SCAD jewelry department prepares students to excel in creative careers including accessories designer, corporate jewelry designer, fine artist, design consultant, studio goldsmith/silversmith, studio artists, and technical specialist. SCAD alumni have secured roles with top brands and industry leaders including Chanel, David Yurman, Swarovski, Tiffany & Co., Henri Bendel, and Coach. 

Learn more about SCAD jewelry.

For the third consecutive year, the SCAD Savannah Film Festival featured the popular Wonder Women panel series, celebrating the cinematic achievements of women in film and television. Separate panels on producers, directors, and writers featured industry professionals examining their careers and answering questions from an eager student audience.

At the Wonder Women: Below the Line panel, moderator Dana Shockley, SCAD professor of film and television, welcomed seven top professionals from diverse backgrounds and skill sets:

Natasha Braier, cinematographer ("Honey Boy"; "Neon Demon")
Latoya Henderson, makeup department head ("Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins")
Molly Hughes, art director ("Hillbilly Elegy"; "I Am Thinking of Ending Things")
Aiesha Li, costume designer ("Tully"; "Birth of the Dragon")
Nancy Richardson, editor ("Twilight"; "Divergent"; "Selena"; "Stand and Deliver")
Amy Roth, costume designer ("Motherless Brooklyn"; "Madame Secretary"; "The Looming Tower")
Heather Taylor, VFX editor (Crafty Apes)

The panelists regaled the Gutstein Gallery audience with stories of their entry into the film industry and how to create a break. Here are edited highlights from their insights.

Aiesha Li: "I was not destined for film. I was going to become a surgeon. But I always liked fabrics. I was sewing as a hobby, then one day a film came to town that needed people who could sew. So, I interned for a small fee. They taught me how to break down fabrics, how to make clothes look old and how to make them look dirty. When I finished university, the production company called and said would you like a full-time job? I stared at the bottom and worked my way up in production design."

Molly Hughes: "I came to Savannah to work on a film called ‘The Legend of Bagger Vance.' I flew myself here and the production designer was Stuart Craig, who worked on the Harry Potter films. He said, ‘If you figure out how to get to London you can always work for me…' I was young, and when you're that age, when you love something, you believe you can do it. I moved to London and worked there for the next nine years."

Natasha Braier: "When I was in film school, I wasn't sure why I wanted to be a filmmaker. But I think it's really important to go on that inward journey. Why are you so eager to be a filmmaker and tell stories? We have so much responsibility, especially now at this particular moment in history. Every frame that reaches the screen is a political act. We can continue to have the world we have, or make a better world."

Nancy Richardson: "We're all storytellers. People have a tendency to think the writer/director is the storyteller. Every single one of the people on this panel has a really sophisticated sense of story and character. That's not to be underestimated. If you graduate wanting to be a writer and director, be flexible. There are a lot of areas in film that you might be happy working in."

Heather Taylor: "As females in the industry, we're conditioned to think we're not worth the same as a man we're working alongside. When I was starting out as an assistant editor, when the editor came in to look at a scene, it took a while for me to give my opinion, even when I was asked for it. When someone asks for your opinion, if you have a valuable contribution to make, give it. That's when people see your worth."

Latoya Henderson: "Learn about every department. Don't just stay in your lane. If you're going to be a director, learn about makeup, costumes. It's going to make your job easier. I know a lot of directors who started off as production assistants. Learn as much as you possibly can before you decide what you're going to do in the industry."

Amy Roth: "You have a voice, you have a vision. Get out there and do it. It doesn’t matter if you get fame or recognition in order to shine."

The 2019 SCAD Savannah Film Festival continues through Saturday, Nov. 2.

For a full list of programming, visit the dedicated site.

The annual Kravet Design Challenge epitomizes the brilliance of cross-disciplinary collaboration at SCAD. The challenge brings together students from two SCAD clubs: Fibers Force, and Interior Design Organization, to have their work judged by representatives from Kravet, the global leader in to-the-trade fabric and home furnishings, in a festive event in Pepe Hall.

This year's prompt — design a collection drawing inspiration from a film made in Savannah — resulted in a lively raft of student creations. Sixteen teams, each comprised of one SCAD fibers student and one SCAD interior design student, displayed mock-ups inspired by movies including "X-Men: First Class," "Forrest Gump," "The Peanut Butter Falcon," and "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil."

"That you chose to enter this competition in addition to your classwork shows your incredible commitment to work with people at SCAD outside your discipline," interior design professor Christina Gonano told students. "We're all really happy with how everything looks. Congratulations on doing amazing work!"

Ellen Kravet, co-principal and executive vice president, and Scott Kravet, chief creative director, Kravet, Inc., were equally effusive in their praise.

"Your depth and detail are exceptional," Scott Kravet said, addressing all entrants. "To choose a winner, we looked for designs that would be applicable to the ease and use of what we do at Kravet. I looked for a design of a space I would personally like to live in."

The collection receiving the highest accolade was "Accentuating Eccentricities" by Sheridan Markham (M.F.A., interior design) and Shelby Pogue (B.F.A., fibers), notable for what Scott Kravet deemed its "spectacular detail and layering, including the ghost. As a buyer of art and textile design, I would buy the feather design today as an indoor print or outdoor print. Well done."

Having won the competition last year, Markham and Pogue were delighted to repeat their top honors. Their collection contains coded, idiosyncratic nods to Clint Eastwood's adaptation of John Berendt's best-selling novel, demonstrating a profound commitment to design excellence.

"As part of our research, we visited the Mercer House, where part of ‘Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil' was filmed," Markham said. "We learned there are certain colors unique to the home: wild herring peach, Indian bluff blue, and Jim's taupe. We incorporated elements of the ornate, historic space and the characters who inhabited it into our collection."

"To create the feather print, I dipped real a feather in ink and dropped it on the paper," explained Pogue. "Then I scanned it into Photoshop and played with layers and opacity and color replacement. The inspiration came from the movie character Serena, who is always wearing dramatic feathered ensembles."

As Markham and Pogue were congratulated by their peers and professors, all participants received a certificate of commendation from Kravet, a valuable accolade to have in a student portfolio.

"Kravet is consistently supportive of what our students do," professor Gonanao added. "They encourage these collaborative opportunities, which are really gateways to professional success. We look forward to doing it again next year."

Congratulations Shelby (left) and Sheridan!

"I'm inspired by the women announcers I found through this project," says Emilie Kefalas (B.F.A., writing, 2018). "Writing ‘Replay' introduced me to a whole new facet of sports."

A new one-act play about a rookie sports announcer calling her first collegiate football game, "Replay" premieres at Theatre 54 in New York City, Fri., Oct. 18. Produced with the support of the Manhattan Repertory Theatre, "Replay" is but the latest of Kefalas's diverse writing credits. Formerly editor-in-chief of SCAD District, she is the author/illustrator of children's book "A Capitol Dream" (Palmetto Publishing, 2019), and currently works as external communications coordinator with Disney Parks, Experiences and Products. In a pinch she can also kick an extra point.

Emilie Kefalas:

I had the idea to write a play about rookie female sports announcer after I read a Chicago Tribune article in 2016 by the wonderful journalist Heidi Stevens, about Julie DiCaro, a host of a sports commentary radio show in the Metro Chicago area. Heidi wrote about how Julie received these abhorrent comments from men about her voice and her opinions on sports.

It was the first time I'd considered how women play a role in sports commentary. Women's voices in sports announcing are relatively rare. When you hear a woman's voice commentating on a football or baseball game, you take notice.

When I watch college football on TV, the women I see are all sideline reporters. But the idea of hearing the woman's voice I found fascinating. I researched how people react to women reporting from the broadcast booth.

Reading about their experiences and listening to their announcing on-line was really helpful. It's an art form and a craft. You have to call quickly and assess a tackle, a move. I had to train my brain to follow how they called players names and numbers and the plays themselves.

I thought, I have to write a play about this. I knew it would be a great medium to explore how people react to this concept of a woman announcer, while bringing awareness to the women in sports announcing. I dedicate the play to them and the trailblazing they have done.

As a writing major at SCAD, I took Introduction to Dramatic Writing (DWRI 101) as an elective. Due to the robust curriculum of the SCAD writing program, I graduated with a portfolio of unrivaled diversity. My SCAD experience empowered me to try all different forms of writing, including playwriting.

Having my play produced in New York feels like scoring a touchdown. It's called "Replay" because the story is told in reverse. It starts at what appears to be the end. We first see "Mags" after she's called her first collegiate football game by herself. She was supposed to be in the booth with someone, but we find out everything via a replay of what happened. I love the idea of pulling back layers of a story and making an audience think.

Purchase "Replay" tickets here.

Photo: Angie Stong (B.F.A., photography, 2018)
Poster design: Sarah Funk

Visit www.emiliekefalas.com!