Susan Applebaum

Susan has a long and rich affiliation with the Piven Theatre Workshop where she trained under Joyce and Byrne Piven beginning in 1974.  At the Workshop, she taught theatre games and story theatre to all age groups, served as Director of the Junior Company and the Young People’s Company, developed story-theatre productions of folk tales and literary stories, and acted professionally.  Susan and Joyce Piven co-authored a book on the actor-training method taught at the Workshop.  Methuen Drama published In the Studio with Joyce Piven: Theatre Games, Story Theatre and Text Work for Actors in 2012.  In the last few years, Susan has acted in Chekhov’s The Three Sisters,Encores (three of Chekhov’s short stories adapted for the stage), and Ivanov all under the direction of Joyce Piven. Most recently she developed a hugely successful story-theatre production called Wise Women and Witches for the Piven Lab Series that opened in June 2017.

In 2015 Susan retired from her teaching responsibilities in the Department of Fine and Performing Arts Theatre Division at Loyola University Chicago where she served on the faculty for more than thirty years.  Her teaching interests included contemporary dramatic literature, play analysis, theatre history, theatre appreciation, improvisation and popular culture. Susan received her Ph. D. in Theatre and Drama from Northwestern University and her undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.  Her essays have been published in Theatre History Studies, The Youth Theatre Journal, and The Encyclopedia of Girlhood, to name a few.

Generally retired from teaching, Susan is looking for her next creative project. She would love to hear from Pivenites with some new ideas to pursue.