Seret Scott-Williams: Activist and Theater Artist Transistions to Teaching

Seret left college to tour with the Free Southern Theater, a group of actors that used drama to educate people about voter registration, integration, and workers' rights. In the early 1970s, she landed her first leading role, in Ray Aranha's My Sister, My Sister, a show that eventually made it to Broadway.

The transition from actor to director came unexpectedly for Seret. Her friend Nancy Fales Garrett had written a play, Some Sweet Day, which was to be performed in Connecticut and for which a director was needed. Garrett recommended Seret to the theater's artistic director, and she got the job. A positive review in the New York Times gave Seret the recognition she needed to find work directing plays in regional theaters around the country. More recently, she has demonstrated her skill as a playwright with works such as Safe House and Second Line.

Seret now wants to teach at the college level, and she needs a bachelor's degree to accomplish this goal. The New School's wide-ranging curriculum and welcoming atmosphere appealed to Seret, and the fact that she could transfer credits confirmed her decision to enroll in the Adults Bachelor's Program. Seret also received 12 prior learning credits for papers she wrote about her experiences as an actor and director.

“I have worked as a professional director and actor for years, on and off Broadway and in regional theater," says Seret. "At The New School, I choose courses that interest me, and my advisor helps me fit them into the degree I'm structuring.” 

Seret's favorite part of the program is the interaction in the classroom. She says, “It's exciting to share ideas with students who are one-third my age. I thought young people would not be interested in my experiences, and I'm finding the opposite.”