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.
The play tells the story of Sally Hemings, a woman enslaved by President Thomas Jefferson and recognized as the mother of several of his children. The play is set at Monticello, Jefferson’s home near Charlottesville, Virginia, in the days leading up to Jefferson’s death on July 4, 1826, as he writes his will. Hemings must fight to ensure that Jefferson’s long-ago promise to free their own children from slavery at the age of 21 will be kept.
It’s not the first time the play has been presented; in fact, it began as a commissioned operatic libretto that premiered in 2001 at Coolidge Auditorium inside the Thomas Jefferson Building at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., and has since been developed through staged readings at New York University, the Aspen Theater Festival and the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, as well as at other universities.
“This is the first production of Sally,” Seaton said. “A fully realized production … with costume, lighting, set.”
In her free time, Seaton enjoys a wide range of pursuits, including architectural design – particularly modern design – listening to music of all kinds, especially jazz, blues and country, and engaging in archival work to preserve her family’s history.
Seaton is also an avid MSU basketball fan who follows every game. She admits she was still feeling the sting of the Spartans’ loss to the University of Michigan on Jan. 30.
“I don’t want to hear from anybody I know in Ann Arbor ... I don’t want to hear from them," she said.
For longtime friend Bobby Hoffman, former public relations manager at Wharton Center, his encounter with Seaton started at, of all places, a Verizon store where Seaton and her son were shopping for a new phone. Hoffman recalled being recognized from his time at Wharton Center, which sparked a conversation between the two. He found Seaton fascinating and quickly invited her to sit down for coffee to continue the conversation.
“We became fast friends,” Hoffman said. “And I absolutely adore her and think of her as a real role model.”
Seaton and Hoffman get lunch usually once a year, the last time being in August, and can pick up where they left off, like they haven’t been away for a day.
“If you talk to her, you're going to be friends with her. That's how she is. She's just incredible, and I encourage you to be friends with her because she's part of a generation of storytellers that has something to say, and she's telling a part of history,” he said.
Support student media!
Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
Discussion
Share and discuss “MSU alumna takes her seat at Wharton” on social media.
