Shakespeare wrote that “All the world's a stage.” So is the classroom, according to Associate Professor of Performance and Communication Arts Rebecca Daniels.

Daniels teaches acting, directing, and playwriting at St. Lawrence, and also directs plays for the University. “My playwriting and directing experiences serve as powerful anecdotal examples that help me teach young directors and playwrights the value of being as informed as possible about their material through the use of careful research before developing a creative vision for their original play or production concept,” she says.

Daniels is the author of the play The Famous Mrs. Beach, which was presented in a student production at St. Lawrence several years ago. The play is based on the biography and documents of turn-of-the century American composer Amy Beach. Most recently, Daniels has been researching the character of Penelope in Homer’s Odyssey, a character which she believes was strongly influenced by the way Homer’s contemporary Greek society viewed women.

As a faculty member at St. Lawrence, Daniels strives to cultivate strong relationships with her colleagues and students. “The powerful sense of community on this campus is something that I never experienced as an undergraduate at a larger school, and I find it quite wonderful as a faculty member,” says Daniels, who earned her undergraduate degree at Stanford, her MFA at the University of Portland and his doctorate at the University of Oregon. “I also really appreciate the strong support for research and for professional and educational development.”