Suzanne Delle Presents Paper at the 10th International Conference on Communications & Media Studies The visiting assistant professor of theater attended a conference to present a different approach to teaching playwriting.

By Abby Harlan
October 14, 2025

Suzanne Delle, visiting assistant professor of theater at Washington and Lee University, introduced an interactive presentation titled “Getting on Our Feet to Teach Writing: A Pedagogy for Teaching Undergraduates Playwriting” at the 10th International Conference on Communications & Media Studies held at Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne in Paris Sept. 11 – 12. The conference was hosted by the Communication & Media Studies Research Network.

Delle’s discussion was based on her published paper, “Taking the Lore Out of Teaching Playwriting: A Pedagogy for Teaching Undergraduates Playwriting,” which delved into the history of teaching writing in the U.S. and ended with the assistant professor having the attendees stand and create a theatrical moment.

Preceding her attendance at this consultation, Delle recalled an experience she had at the Mid-America Theatre Conference, where Andrew Black, then a doctoral candidate at the University of Missouri, presented results of a study he conducted on the teaching methods of undergraduate playwriting programs, which ultimately exhibited that these practices have gone fundamentally unchanged for the past 100 years. To combat this static progress, Delle developed a unique and engaging approach to teaching playwriting: get students to their feet to learn about theatrical elements prior to beginning their actual writing process.

“This gave them a quick introduction to my methodology and hopefully made the presentation memorable” said Delle. 

Delle is in her first year as a member of the W&L faculty. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in theatre from Connecticut College, Master of Arts degrees in arts administration and digital communication and media/multimedia from Goucher College and an MFA in directing from the Catholic University of America.

Founded in 2015, the Communication & Media Studies Research Network aims to develop a knowledgeable community capable of building connections across cultural, disciplinary and geographic confines.

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