Serving as the president of a college involves taking on a number of roles — relating to students, reassuring trustees, leading faculty, wooing donors — but rarely do college presidents actually slather on the stage makeup and get in costume. Which is why we got excited when we heard that Towson University’s new president Maravene Loeschke plans on celebrating her inauguration by getting on stage for a one-time performance (with her husband as co-star!) of Love Letters, a play that traces two characters’ relationship from second grade through marriage, divorce, and old age.
Loeschke clearly isn’t worried about stage fright; before her stint in academic administration, she had an extensive acting career that included performances as Emily Dickinson, Diana Vreeland, and George Sand. She’s performed in The Glass Menagerie, Driving Miss Daisy, and Lion in Winter; if you ever saw Maryland Public Television’s comedic series CRABS, you might recognize her face. Loeschke graduated from Towson in 1969, and will be the school’s first alumna president since 1947. In the 1980s, she taught classes in mime (!) and other theater arts at the school before becoming dean of the school’s College of Fine Arts and Communication. See what we mean? Fun!
The performance of Love Letters is free, and takes place this Saturday (September 9) at 3 p.m. as a part of Loeschke’s inauguration. The non-theatrical ceremony is slated for next Friday, September 14, at 2 p.m.; if attending in person isn’t an option, you can live stream the ceremony here.
