Valparaiso University English Department Newsletter
Fall 2024
Welcome From the Chair
Greetings to all our alumni and friends from the Valparaiso University department of English. We hope you will enjoy this look into the creative and exciting endeavors of our students and faculty, and we thank you for your ongoing support of English studies at Valpo.
In this issue of The Lodestar, we celebrate the recent visit of Actors from the London Stage to Valpo. Our very own Professor Betsy Burow-Flak spearheaded the efforts—both logistic and financial—to bring the renowned touring company of professional Shakespearean actors, now in its 49 th year, to campus for a week. The troupe’s five actors visited nearly two dozen classes—including many English classes—to teach, share, and inspire, and finished the week by performing a rousing and hilarious rendition of Twelfth Night to a packed Homecoming and Family Weekend audience.
As always, we like to highlight the work our students and alumni are doing. This issue features current student Jackie O’Hara and our senior class of English and Creative Writing majors. Our Alumni Spotlight covers 2023 Creative Writing graduate Joe Weaver’s successful endeavors in the field of tabletop role-playing games (RPGs). Joe was also recently back on campus sharing
career advice with our students as part of a Young Alumni Panel.
Professor George Potter again contributed to Valpo’s cultural life by directing the Fall Theater Production: Let the Right One In—a vampire tale and coming-of-age romance adapted for the stage by Jack Thorne from Swedish writer John Ajvide Lindqvist’s novel and film. The edgy play was a bloody good love story! And our Classroom Spotlight focuses on Professor Sara Danger’s brand-new course on the graphic novel, the genre of novels told in comic-strip illustrated format that has had significant cultural impact in recent decades.
We also hear about Professor Potter’s summer residency at Bread and Puppet Theater in Vermont. Bread and Puppet, a long running theater and touring company, is famous for its largescale puppet approach to storytelling.
Finally, thank you to the students who worked diligently to produce this newsletter, and to all of you, our alumni, for staying in touch and supporting the vital work of the humanities at Valpo.
Professor Carter Hanson, Chair of the English Department. Photo from valpo.edu.
Students
Senior Spotlights
Katelyn Oehmke English Literature Criminology
After graduation, I plan to continue writing and hope to find a career that allows me the opportunity to use my education and continue growing within my field. At Valpo, I was a member and president of the Kappa Phi Chapter of Sigma Tau Delta Honor Society, and President of the Inklish Literary Society.
Jay Bradley Creative Writing Art
I plan to get a job in editing or publishing with thoughts to attend grad school. I participated in Inklish, Haunt, and Alliance. I was the Assistant Editor for The Lighter. At Valpo, I’ve really enjoyed my time with professors and the friends I’ve met along the way have made my experience great.
Jasmine Collins English & Music Humanities
I am going to graduate school to study library science or archival work in the United Kingdom. At Valpo, I was President of SAI, a Consultant at the Writing Center, Tutorial Assistant for Christ College’s First-Year Program, CAPS Fellow Summer 2024, and former Secretary of Alliance Spring 2023.
Jackie
O’Hara Creative Writing Criminology
I hope to get into graduate school for Journalism. While at Valpo, I served on the E-board for the Inklish Literary Society and the Lighter. I was also a member of Haunt. Outside of school, some of my passions are nature and music. I love animals deeply and can play multiple instruments!
Benjamin Fields English Literature
After graduation, I plan to pursue my passion in writing and instructing. I hope to further my understanding of literary arts and pedagogy. At Valpo, I was Editor of the Lodestar, Consultant at the Writing Center, writer for the Torch, and student teacher for Bloom Scholars Program.
Emma Johnson Creative Writing Astronomy
After graduation, I plan to take a gap year to participate in a service program for young adults. I hope to work with an organization helping people and gain skills working!
During my time at Valpo, I was Leader of Sweetwine, VP of Creative Writing Club, Editor or the Valpo Fiction Review and Wordfest award winner.
Faculty
Highlighting Professor Potter’s Work in Puppetry FacultySpotlight
George Potter Associate Professor of English, wears many hats at Valpo. From directing plays to teaching classes, Potter has surely made an impact on campus creativity and student education. Most recently, opening on Friday, October 25th, Potter directed the Fall Theatre Production, “Let the Right One In”. During summer break of 2024, Professor Potter had an opportunity to participate in a residency with Bread and Puppet Theater. Potter explains, “They’re a theater company that’s on a farm in Beaumont, Vermont,” he continues, “They were founded in the 60s in the village in New York City, in this kind of anti-war puppet theater in the Vietnam War.” Potter says the founder was a German immigrant, now in his 90s, who runs the artistic side of the company. He adds, “they do performances either outdoors in a pageant field or [an] indoor barn with giant puppets…sometimes two story high puppets, huge legs, body size…different animals and figures,” he says.
Professor Potter explains how he got involved with the three-week long apprenticeship program: “I taught their work for years in modern, contemporary drama class… so I decided to apply for the apprenticeship, [to get a] hands on experience,” he continues describing his path to participating with the theater company, “I applied last spring, had some research funds to help take care of the cost of going out there.” Potter’s desire for the experience was rooted in understanding: “It’s good to occasionally
by Ben Fields
remind yourself what… being in that position… performing under someone else’s direction… and then also to see how they put shows together.” On top of learning about puppetry, Potters says participants had chores such as kitchen duty: “Our meals were made with… stuff off the farm. After every show they give out bread and garlic aioli. So, I was on the crew that made buckets of aioli for people, which is a long, slow process.”
In terms of campus application, Professor Potter explains how he sees puppetry and his experience being instilled on campus: “There’s a few different answers to that. One is, there’s tons of use of puppetry in theater. I think in the United States, so many people grew up with Sesame Street, we kind of have this assumption that puppetry is for kids.” Professor Potter sees his experience in puppetry as a new, creative outlet that could prove itself useful for the Valpo Arts Department. Yet, Potter clarifies that puppetry is not easily learned, and practice is necessary in the crafting process: “But there’s a hundred different ways to make puppets… again, it’s this sense that it’s something that is very much shared and taught, that you can kind of… learn from other people.” Potter says he’s hopeful for the integration of puppetry at Valpo; however, “It’s just a question of, what kind of show would it be?”
Puppets used at Bread and Puppet Theater. Photo creds George Potter
Performance space at Bread and Puppet Theater in Beaumont , Vermont
Alumni
Alumnus Spotlight
Meet VU alumnus, Joe Weaver
Valpo alumnus Joe Weaver values authentic education, believing in “bringing your whole self” inside and outside the classroom. With a background in physical therapy and architectural drafting, he pursued a Creative Writing degree to become a novelist. However, after meeting Professor Martin Buinicki, Weaver shifted his focus to the gaming industry. Alongside Professor Buinicki, he helped found VU’s first RPG club, Rolling with RPGs, to encourage student involvement in gaming through play, design, or writing. Weaver has also founded his own game publishing company, Advent Chaos LLC.
Weaver’s favorite part of game design is the development process: “It’s taking your own idea and bringing it to life… there’s a lot of fulfillment that comes from writing for other people, too.” For Weaver, the writing process is as much about formation, as it is interaction with other creatives and players. When writing, he focuses on immersion, and “letting the player truly experience the story.” To achieve this, he understands that the process of refining a narrative is just as important as the initial creation. As a writer, he recognizes that peer review and revisions are essential in crafting the best, most beautiful products, Weaver declares, “If a pen were a sword, then criticism is the whetstone that sharpens it.” His advice for creators overcoming their protective, precious instincts is to recognize that “if you don’t tell me what you honestly think of my work, someone else will. If it can be fixed, you want somebody to be critical so that it can be the best product that it can be.”
For aspiring game creators, Weaver suggests attending the forthcoming Center for Games and Interactive Entertainment to
by Carmen Hernandez
be a valuable resource, offering aspiring gaming professionals hands-on experience and rich opportunities to further their expertise. Another illuminating path is attending gaming conventions, as owners and developers attend and are open to discussion, with Weaver describing them as “archives of information.” Finally, Weaver suggests creating an artist portfolio–digitally for convenience–showcasing the creator’s biggest strengths.
Looking forward, Weaver’s plans are full of new, creative projects. As a contributing writer for Imagining Games, Weaver has one game planned to be released with them, and a different, independent game currently in development. With two games set to be released next year, Weaver’s schedule is packed with activity and innovation. Long term, Weaver plans to write a novella, a Renaissance period novel To Feast with Wolves, described by Weaver as a “Pirates of the Caribbean meets Indiana Jones sort of story and that a pirate chases down the Big 3 Christian relics of legend.”
As Weaver continues writing and publishing, he wants future and current artists to remember that: “Words matter. They carry weight and can affect someone you’ll never meet in ways you don’t expect. It’s the very essence of what makes writing an art form, and art requires patience. Making good revisions requires you to exercise that patience. Know that ‘perfection’ is usually in the eye of the beholder, but remember that something doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.”
Joe Weaver via Instagram.
Advent Chaos LLC, Weaver’s publishing company.
Students
Student Spotlight
Assistant Editor, Jackie O’Hara
introduces new edition of The Lighter
The Valparaiso University’s literary art magazine The Lighter releases their Fall 2024 publication, consisting of collected works of art and writing from students around campus. Jackie O’Hara, a senior Creative Writing major, is in her second year as The Lighter’s Assistant Editor. O’Hara works mainly on the selection committee, with promotional materials, and copy editing. However, she also enjoys submitting creative pieces to magazines, stating, “I started submitting to The Lighter in 2022 during Fall of my sophomore year. It felt euphoric when I got the acceptance letter for the first time. I started working as an assistant editor in 2023.” When interviewed, O’Hara gave lots of insight as to how The Lighter came to be and the behind the scenes.
The student-run magazine started when a group of students came together and came up with the idea to formulate something where students can express their creativity. Moreover, The Lighter gives students experience on the behind-the-scenes of what it takes to run a publication. O’Hara appreciates the skills she’s learned from both her experience and the individuals around her, explaining, “I’ve gained better editing and PR skills. I’ve also learned how to talk and work in a more professional literary setting.” The current advisors for the publication are Professors Christine Rice and Laura Krepp, both of them provide guidance
by Makayla Scott
from years of experience in the field. Both Professor Rice and Krepp run their own creative business, with Krepp specializing in graphic design and marketing, and Rice publishing creative works ranging from non-fiction to poetry. Focusing on the graphic design aspect, Krepp shines in more art focused categories of The Lighter. Alternatively, Rice centers on the literary pieces.
The voting process for The Lighter is completely anonymous, ensuring that the process remains fair for all students. Assistant Editors Jackie O’Hara and Jay Bradley look over every accepted piece, while the Graphic Designer, Shehna Zaman works on cover designs and mood boards for the finalized book. The Editor in Chiefs, Allison Demik and Meagan Koutsopanagos, work on getting in touch with DesignWorks–the campus print shop–about costs, formatting, gloss, and other details. The team for The Lighter, anticipates every publication, welcoming the diversity created by students. The completed magazine is free of cost, and available for the entire campus. Following the release, the Coffee House in BB’s Cafe helps celebrate The Lighter, honoring the hard work from both the staff and contributors. For future years, O’Hara hopes that, “The Lighter continues to give students a platform to be heard. Everyone deserves to have an outlet for creative expression.”
The 2024 Assistant Editor of The Lighter, Jackie O’Hara.
Fall 2024 Edition of The Lighter.
Doctor Danger spearheads new English course Classroom
Classroom Spotlight
New this semester: a class solely focused on graphic novels taught by Professor Sara Danger of the Valpo English Department. But why teach graphic novels? When creating the class, Danger drew from multiple sources as inspiration to pursue an alternate form of literature, different from classic canonical works but still holding the same educational value.
Professor Danger’s main inspiration came from her years teaching a Christ College class, “Word and Image.”
Whenever she would teach graphic novels, she found them to be particularly engaging for students to read and discuss. Classes she taught in the past would maybe only have one graphic novel, yet she found that “no matter what text it was, that text would engage us and get us to consider ethical and aesthetic questions on a deeper level.” She wanted to explore how texts make meaning and how serious issues, such traumatic history and suffering can be shown.
Professor Danger’s second inspiration was a visiting author she listened to in the spring. Kelcey Ervick, author of The Keeper, came to Valpo and gave a talk. Danger reflects on how she “was so taken by how passionate she was, and how honest she was.” Danger really wanted to communicate the art and ethics of storytelling, and “show [students] that storytelling really matters.” In reflection
by Analiese Heissenbuettel
of her goals and inspiration for the class, Danger carefully chose texts that would show the power of graphic novel storytelling. She deliberately curated three units, or focuses, for graphic novel storytelling. She wanted to focus on “the different modes of storytelling that the graphic novel is known for” and chose graphic novels on the storytelling of history and suffering, memoir, and fantasy or world-building. Danger wanted to show students how graphic novels integrate“word and image, the past and present and the personal and public histories,” in ways that, “engages readers and invites them to make personal connections.”
Students in Professor Danger’s class enjoy the unique way of connecting words and images. Sara Johnson, an Elementary Education major, expressed her enjoyment with the class, stating that she has “gained perspective on how impactful graphic novels truly can be and how the words and images work together to provide a more fulfilling understanding of the texts.”
Engaging with texts is more than just reading, it is relating and perceiving them using the lens of the entity of the world surrounding students. Danger believes that graphic novels are “one of the most modern forms of storytelling that we have” and help us “recognize more deeply the power of storytelling.”
Dr. Sara Danger, photo provided by Valparaiso University
Collage of novels used as inspiration.
Event Spotlight Events
Fall Theater production, “Let the Right One In”
This fall, the Valpo theater production performed, “Let the Right One In” by Jack Thorne, for two weekends arround Halloween, fitting the gory, haunting aesthetic of October. The Halloween-themed play, featuring Oskar, a lonely, bullied twelve year old boy, played by Tabi Porter, Creative Writing and Musical Theater Major. Oskar meets a new neighbor who unexpectedly turns out to be a vampire.
The director, George Potter, has previously read the best-selling book, “Let the Right One In”, first a Swedish novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist and now, the play by Jack Thorne. A horror show had never been done at Valpo before, but Professor Potter found this one to be “one of the more interesting [horror scripts] because in addition to the vampire stuff, it also deals with gender and sexuality and bullying.” As a whole, throughout the production, Potter really wanted to focus on the relationship between the two main characters, as this play was “stronger in terms of plotting” where there was more to develop in the show than just the horror aspect. Tabi Porter emphasizes the humanity of the play as well. She outlined that they have “leaned further into the humanity and innocence of the characters than the horror aspects, which I believe made the show even darker and raised the stakes a lot more.”
Potter adds that it has been more difficult to produce plays. There’s less staff, less students, and smaller
by Analiese Heissenbuettel
budgets. Despite these difficulties, as well as having 40 scene changes in this production, the department manages to find ways around the challenges. Potter describes the special effects they worked on, from blood pouring out of pores, heads getting chopped off, and hanging bodies. Potter describes how Daelyn Garcia, the costume designer, has worked hard on designing these effects. He explains how she designed the blood pouring out of pores, where she had “tubing running all the way up her body to her head, pumping blood out.” Porter expresses how unique this show has been to her many prior. She expresses, “This show was so much different from any other production I’d ever done. There was so much more blood, for starters.”
Overall, the show was a success. Professor Potter explains opening night had the biggest audience they had, and “they really had a good time.” He emphasizes, “some of the horror set pieces are playing really well, some of the effects…the audience is really getting into it.” Tabi Porter, playing Oskar, expresses how she found the show to be successful, where many from the audience left with general unease and confusion. She argues, “Nothing is more compelling than leaving a show with a few questions and musings about what it meant to the characters and what it can mean for your own life.” Potter explains theater can always be something different than expected, and this show has proved that.
Tabi Porter, pictured with VU Theater. Photo creds George Potter
Actor Tabi Porter and Briana Roll. Photo creds George Potter
Event EventsSpotlight
London actors perform and visit English classes at Valpo
Actors From the London Stage (AFTLS), founded in 1975 and known for their performances of Shakespeare, were on campus from October 1st to the 4th. They took part in over a dozen classes, impacting over 300 students. While this group has been on campus before, this recent experience offered both the actors and students the opportunity to work together on specific texts such as Macbeth, Twelfth Night, Arcadia, and Death of a Salesman.
The AFTLS visits colleges and universities across the United States, with each tour consisting of five actors who perform a complete Shakespeare play with minimal props and costumes, often acting as multiple different characters. The actors who visited Valpo are Shona Babayemi, Sarah Finigan, Sam Jenkins-Shaw, Thulisa Magwaza, and Hayden Wood. On October 4th, in the VU Theater, they performed Twelfth Night for the Valpo community.
While on campus, the AFTLS visited classes that span a variety of subjects: courses ranged from American Literature to Writing for the Health Sciences. Topics relating to grief, finding one’s voice, and actors’ perspectives gave the students valuable insight, with each class incorporating something different from the next.
When discussing the planning process, English Professor Betsy Burow-Flak reiterated that both the campus faculty
by Katie Oehmke
and the actors were actively involved in ensuring that they would make the most out of the classroom visits. The professors met with the actors before classes to discuss what they would focus on. Burow-Flak states that during these meetings it was clear that “there was a real sense of real interest in what our classes are doing, what we hope overall the students will achieve, and what our goals were for that individual class period.”
Many students have expressed that this experience was very beneficial. Jonathan Hurtado ‘25, a Creative Writing Major with a Minor in Communications, was in two classes the AFTLS visited. When expressing his experience with the actors Hurtado stated, “Getting to meet such talented people in different classes, to have lesson plans be synthesized, then eventually see these same people in their element—these were all experiences I never really thought I’d experience.” He emphasizes that this opportunity is something he will never forget, recommending that the university continue to offer this in the future for other students to experience.
The Actors From the London Stage brought students together and continues to have an impact on the Valpo experience. Campus organizations like Alpha Psi Omega, Valparaiso University’s theater honor society, and VUDU, the comedy club, held events that the actors visited. This collaboration strengthened the campus community through the Arts and provided hope for the future.
Actors From the London Stage.
Photo creds Betsy Burro-flak
Promotional for the Twelfth Night Performance. Photo creds VU and ACFLS
Welcoming three new editors to The Lodestar New
New Editor Spotlight
by Ben Fields
Working for The Lodestar is a great opportunity for English majors to get involved in the English Department. In addition, the skills gained in both editing and writing serve our contributors greatly post-graduation. The experience our writers and editors receive is crucial to furthering their understanding of writing, communication, and professionalism. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as writer and then as editor for The Lodestar. I am pleased to welcome three new editors to The Lodestar crew! Our new editors include Carmen Hernandez, English, Analiese Heissenbuttel, English and Psychology, and Makayla Scott, Creative Writing major. These writers will do a tremendous job and carry on the legacy of the Valpo English Department.
Carmen Hernandez notes, “as I began high school literature courses, writing became something that satisfied me. Learning how to synthesize my thoughts felt academically challenging, yet liberating at the same time. Editing and refining my writing and others continues to teach me about composition and communication. Through The Lodestar, I hope to gain applicable experience, like becoming proficient in InDesign, while also learning how to improve my writing. In the future, I hope to see myself in Chicago, editing academically.”
Makayla Scott expresses, “I’ve always had a passion for writing since I was young when I wrote my first story at seven. Writing was something that just came naturally to me. I hope to gain more experience with different types of writing as well as become better at revising and editing. After I graduate I hope to become an author, poet, scriptwriter, and playwright.”
Analiese Heissenbuttel states, “I have always enjoyed writing, as it has provided me with a creative output for my thoughts. I was interested in writing for The Lodestar to further my skills in different forms of writing on an array of topics, as well as get more involved in the English department. I am hoping to gain more editing skills, in learning new softwares, as well as in leadership. Postgraduation I hope to work for a publishing company.”
From left to right: Carmen Hernandez, Analiese Heiseenbuttel, aand Makayla Scott.
Our Writers Meet the Editor
Writer/Co-Editor
Analiese Heissenbuettel
Benjamin Fields Editor-in-Chief
Ben is a senior English Literature. This is his third year as writer and second year as editor for The Lodestar. Ben also works as a consultant at the Writing Center. This is Ben’s second to last issue as editor for The Lodestar, which he will passing on in 2025. He is interested in pursuing writing and editing professionally.
Writer/Co-Editor Writer/Co-Editor
Carmen Hernandez
Katie Oehmke Writer
Makayla Scott
We offer special thanks to Ben Fields for the cover image and Matt Ross for designing The Lodestar logo.