Through the grainy lens of a computer camera, rows of books sit still in bookcases along the back wall of her small, but carefully curated, living room. It’s quiet inside, not because of the headphones she wears to talk, but because the room is like Sandra Seaton – thoughtful, structured, but curiously, carefree.
“When my kids were little, I was a studio art major for a while at MSU, and I was going to do architecture by conduct,” she said. “I put them (her children) on the floor, and they would have their crayons and paper, and then I would work while they were doing stuff. If I'm working on a play or something, I can be doing that and doing the dishes.”
There isn’t an order. There isn’t chaos. There is, however, mindfulness that exudes in her work, which has been honored in the form of the Mark Twain Award from The Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature in 2012 and the Theodore Ward Prize for African American Playwriting.
Seaton graduated from Michigan State University in 1988 with a master’s in creative writing, receiving mentorship from faculty members within MSU’s English department.
Born in Columbia, Tennessee, in the same room as her mother and grandmother Seaton holds family close.
“There were always a lot of books around the house. And, a lot of music,” she said. “A family member of mine wrote the book, and was a visionary for what we now know as the Broadway musical Shuffle Along. This was in the 20s. So, it was just that atmosphere.”
Seaton and her husband moved to East Lansing in 1971 after meeting at the University of Illinois in Champaign, where they were both undergraduates. She taught at Central Michigan University from the early 1990s through 2004, writing plays and mentoring a new generation of storytellers, whom she remains in contact with today.
Works by Seaton include The Bridge Party, Night Trip, Dreamland: Tulsa and more. Seaton's work explores African American history and memory, Black women’s voices, race and social justice, identity and historical reclamation.
Seaton’s work uses drama and music to give depth and humanity to stories that expand how audiences understand the American past and present.
Most recently, her play Sally will debut for its world premiere at Wharton Center from Feb. 19-21.
