Dr. Marcia Eppich-Harris brings her English expertise to Butler. Photo by Jonathan Wang.
MAIRIN MCCARTHY | STAFF REPORTER | mkmccarthy@butler.edu
Dr. Marcia Eppich-Harris is one of the English department’s most recent hires. Her early British literature and Shakespeare courses allow students to adopt a unique perspective on the authors and playwrights of their respective time periods. Eppich-Harris plans to focus not only on the works of Shakespeare in her courses but also on Shakespeare’s personal impact on theatre.
“I want people to think about Shakespeare as a theatre practitioner, an actor, a playwright, a theater owner — [as] somebody who is a sort of living, breathing kind of person in his culture,” Eppich-Harris said.
Her expertise in Shakespeare’s life and works originates from a course she took during her master’s program at Indiana State University.
“I just got blown away by the class; I was just so in love with it,” Eppich-Harris said. “It was a really good experience, and so at that point, I thought, this is what I want to do. I want to be involved with Shakespeare somehow, whether teaching or doing something else.”
Junior secondary education major Brenna Arakelian is enrolled in Eppich-Harris’ Shakespeare English elective this semester.
“[Eppich-Harris] seems really excited about teaching the class,” Arakelian said. “I have never taken a class on Shakespeare before, and I hope to learn a lot from the course.”
Eppich-Harris started teaching in California, working part time at Mills College and then the University of San Francisco. She then returned to her Indiana roots, accepting a full-time job at Marian University for eight years before taking a teaching hiatus to focus on her writing and her role as the artistic director of Southbank Theatre Company.
She has taught various courses, including humanities with music, arts and literature, women playwrights and writing courses.
“I’ve taught a lot of different kinds of things,” Eppich-Harris said. “So in some ways I have been able to be a generalist, but my specific scholarship and interest has always been in dramatic literature.”
Eppich-Harris hopes that her perspectives and teaching goals will provide a unique learning outlook for Butler students interested in Shakespeare on campus.
When she is not teaching, Eppich-Harris can be found at Southbank Theatre Company, located in Indianapolis. Since opening in 2021, the company has produced shows in various locations, including Butler’s Shelton Auditorium.
Southbank Theatre Company will be putting on a series of shows this season at Shelton Auditorium. Upcoming productions include “Seeking Nietzsche” in September, “The Lion in Winter” in November and “Man of La Mancha” in March 2024. Attending these productions is not only a chance to support Southbank Theatre Company but also counts towards fulfilling Butler Culture Requirements.
