Made You Look

Author Laurel Williams holds her book "Made You Look"

Laurel Williams, author and 2010 SIUE grad, unveiled her new book before a gathering of faculty and students in Dunham Hall in September. This past April “Made You Look” was featured at the SIUE Senior Capstone Showcase, an honor bestowed on selected seniors from the College of Arts and Sciences. Williams has a B.A. in English and a B.S. in theater with an emphasis on history, literature and criticism.

“We crafted a senior assignment that would accommodate her interests, “ said Johanna Schmitz, associate professor of theater and dance. Schmitz organized the 2008 and 2010 trip that served as the focal point of the book.

“She (thought she) was going to London to study theater, but instead she learned how to see,” Schmitz said. “She tried to design the book so that the reader has a sense of discovery. It’s a very beautiful book that is much more than a scrap book or travel log.”

A typical day for Williams, during the trip, started with a lecture. After that the small group explored London with an eye towards history and theater.

“A lot of us were history ‘hounds,’” Williams said. “We would go to all the museums and come back and tell Johanna about it, right before our shows in the evening.”

Williams took part in the London Study Abroad theater program in 2008. Taking writing and photographs from the ten students who participated, and using modern publishing technologies from Blurb.com, she created a work that she can include in her portfolio as she applies to graduate school.

This year’s participants assisted in the Barbican production of “You Me Bum Bum Train”, a piece of experimental theater. Joshua David, a 2010 Student Abroad and SIUE theater major, says Williams’ book aptly captured the shared experience of SIUE students going overseas to broaden their practical education.

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