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Sarah Brown, assistant professor of theatre, was awarded a Fulbright Award by the United States/Israel Educational Foundation (USIEF) for the 2010/11 academic year. During that time, Brown will teach solo performance development in the Department of Theatre at the University of Haifa, Israel. The course is structured as an intensive performance lab where students have an opportunity to learn the process of creating their own solo shows. A playwright, actor, and solo performer herself, Brown has written and performed many solo shows, made of characters that she draws from real life.

"The subject matter for my solo shows has often been Jews in America," Brown says. "I've written about being Jewish from a variety of perspectives within a variety of different 'lives', always with the intent of engendering more understanding of who Jews are to themselves as well as to others, and attempting to expose the demons of social and religious alienation that have molded their experience throughout history."

In addition to teaching solo performance development while at the University of Haifa, Brown will also lead workshops on Commedia and Moliere for student actors as well as for those enrolled in the university's Medical Clowning program. "The University of Haifa offers a bachelor's degree in Medical Clowning, designed to help children cope with hospital stays and long term illness" Brown says. "It's a course of study that teaches students not only about performance and clowning, but also about medical therapies so that the performers can ultimately become an integral part of the medical team."
In response to her experience in Israel, Brown will write her own solo show, which will be performed at the University of Memphis when she returns.

About Sarah Brown
Sarah Brown received her MFA in acting from Yale School of Drama in 1994. She joined the University of Memphis faculty as assistant professor of theatre in 2007, and has been teaching all levels of acting. Having grown up in a theatre family in Los Angeles, Sarah has been an active member of Actor's Equity and Screen Actors' Guild, appearing on the stage in New York City, regional theatre, as well as film and television since she was 7-years old. Sarah has written two plays that have been published by Samuel French, Inc. She was awarded a Fox Foundation Fellowship by nomination of the Yale Drama Faculty to develop her skills as producer/performer of her dark and highly satirical plays and one-person shows. Brown's plays have been performed or presented by invitation in venues across the U.S. as well as abroad.