Will Power Named Artist in Residence at Southern Methodist University

A veteran of theatre, film and television, Power’s work bridges the gap between the spoken word of hip-hop and traditional theatre. Power spent four weeks at SMU this past fall as a winner of the 2010 Meadows Prize, the international arts residency launched by the Meadows School of the Arts in fall 2009. During his visits to SMU in the past, Power worked with Meadows student actors and designers to create a new theatre work. The play, Alice Underground, gave a modern spin to the tale of Alice in Wonderland.

Power’s work in Dallas as winner of the Meadows Prize was a partnership between the Meadows School of the Arts and the Dallas Theater Center (DTC). This winter, he returned to Dallas to begin working with the DTC to write and develop a new theatre piece, Stagger Lee. He also gave a public talk at SMU as part of the Meadows School’s new Forum for Art and Urban Engagement, and met with local arts and culture leaders to talk about how artists can best engage with their communities. As an artist-in-residence, Power will teach in the Division of Theatre and continue to work with community groups.

Among Power’s previous pieces are the solo performance Flow; the play Fetch Clay, Make Man; and his adaptation of the Greek tragedy Seven Against Thebes, retitled The Seven.