Teacher-Scholar Legacies: Sharon Andrews

The Wake Forest Theatre holds the final dress rehearsal for The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller and directed by Sharon Andrews, on the Tedford Stage on Thursday, October 31, 2019.

By Cindy Gendrich, Associate Chair of Theatre/Dance

In her nearly three decades at Wake Forest, Sharon Andrews (MFA, UNCG) has been an inspiring and prolific artist, as well as an exemplary teacher and citizen of the university. She has served on dozens of committees and task forces; represented Wake Forest at regional and national conferences; and advised, mentored, and advocated for both colleagues and students. Sharon leaves a legacy of artistic rigor, deep faith in her students, and abundant kindness.

When I think about Sharon I think about the warmth of her voice, the comfort of her office, her belief in us as students, her constant encouragement and uplifting spirit, and her endless love and support.  And I think about how she gave me my first professional opportunity at the age of 18, to come to LA and stage manage a play she was directing, which set me off on a journey that carried me forward through the rest of my career. She had belief in me before I had belief in myself.

Producer Cambra Overend
The Wake Forest Theatre presents the final dress rehearsal for “John Proctor is the Villain”, by Kimberly Belflower and directed by professor Sharon Andrews, on the Tedford Stage in Scales Fine Arts Center on Thursday, February 3, 2022.

Sharon’s theatre productions are well-known for their humanity, their striking emotional depth, and their fidelity to text. She has expanded our program’s visibility by directing plays and performing, both locally and across the country–in Colorado, Los Angeles, and multiple theaters in the Triad. She has led student and faculty artists at Wake Forest to some of their very best work, directing exceptional productions of The Grapes of Wrath, Moonchildren, Light Up The Sky, Clybourne Park, The Crucible, Six Degrees of Separation, and dozens more. The work she does with actors is often transformational and has applications both in and outside of the theatre.

Sharon possesses a masterful ability to teach empathy and Stanislavski’s “magic if,” which made me not only a better actor but a better person. For being both a dear friend during my time on campus and for cultivating the skills essential for compassionate care as an emergency medicine physician, I will always be grateful.

Dr. Phillip Kayser

At Wake Forest, Sharon has skillfully taught Directing, Acting, Playwriting, and a host of First Year Seminars. Her collaborations have also gone beyond the department, teaming with Phil Clarke to found the Counseling Troupe, in which student actors portray clients for graduate counseling students. And with Brook Davis, Sharon created the annual orientation play, Wake World, which introduces new students to Wake Forest with humor, music, and heartfelt stories. 

Sharon believes in the ability of art to inspire conversation and social change. She has regularly taken advantage of theatre productions’ educational role by arranging after-show discussions and expert panels, such as the successful “Not in Our Neighborhood” series after her production of Clybourne Park. She even took students to perform at the Alexander Correction Facility on several occasions, notably in conjunction with her production of Our Country’s Good.  

Sharon is committed to playwrights and new play development. A founding member of the regional theatre company THEATREWORKS, in Colorado Springs, CO, and of The Virtual Theatre Project, she shepherded multiple new works through to production. At the national level, Sharon has acted as an adjudicator for the Association for Theatre in Higher Education’s David Mark Cohen Playwriting Award for more than 20 years and coordinated it for six (2006-2012). Here at Wake, she developed a much-needed and popular playwriting course, which has yielded award-winning plays for the last three years. Playwright Cameron Michles, who will attend Columbia University’s MFA playwriting program next year, credits Sharon with helping shape her into the artist and person she is today. 

Her encouragement and mentorship are what set me on the path to playwriting, and I am forever grateful for our relationship. Everything she has taught me I continue to carry with me, and I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to learn from her. 

Playwright Cameron Michles

Not one person in our department is eager for Sharon to retire, which might be the strongest indication of how beloved she is. Designer Kevin Frazier spoke for us all when he said, “The strongest endorsement of Sharon and her work is that her absence will be keenly felt, and her work, her joy, and her love of theatre and of our community will continue to bring light to these halls for years to come.”

Sharon is the recipient of multiple awards, including the Zachary T. Smith fellowship, a Kennedy Center ACTF Excellence in Directing citation, and multiple grants. She has served on local boards for arts organizations and has been the director in residence at Worrell House in London. 

Sharon has also written several plays and, with the newfound freedom of retirement, intends to spend more time writing, traveling, spending time with her friends and family, and directing plays.