Sandra Seaton facts for kids

Sandra Cecelia Seaton is an American writer who creates plays and opera stories. She is known as a playwright (someone who writes plays) and a librettist (someone who writes the words for an opera or musical). In 2012, she won the Mark Twain Award from a group called the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature. Sandra Seaton also taught English, including creative writing and African-American literature, at Central Michigan University for 15 years.

Sandra Seaton's Early Life and Education

Sandra Seaton was born in Columbia, Tennessee. Her parents, Albert Sampson Browne Jr. and Hattye Evans, were both teachers. After her parents divorced, her mother remarried, and the family moved to Chicago in 1949.

Sandra's grandmother, Emma Louish Evans, was a big inspiration for her work. Emma often performed in amateur shows and taught Sandra to be proud of her family's history in theater. A family member, Flournoy Miller, helped write the famous all-Black musical Shuffle Along in 1921.

Sandra Seaton went to Farragut High School in Chicago. She then earned her first degree, a Bachelor of Arts, from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. There, she focused on creative writing. Later, she earned a Master of Arts degree in creative writing from Michigan State University. She is also a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

Sandra Seaton is married to James Seaton, who is a literary critic and an English professor at Michigan State University. They have four children together.

Sandra Seaton's Writing Career

Sandra Seaton has written many different types of stories. She has created 14 plays, several opera librettos, a spoken-word piece, and short stories.

Her first play, The Bridge Party, was performed in 1998 at the University of Michigan. Famous actors like Ruby Dee were in it. This play was inspired by real events in her community. It was also included in a book called Strange Fruit: Plays on Lynching by American Women.

Writing for Opera

Sandra Seaton wrote the story for a solo opera called From the Diary of Sally Hemings in 2001. The music for this opera was written by William Bolcom. The story is a fictional look into the thoughts of Sally Hemings, an enslaved woman who lived a long time ago.

Bolcom asked Sandra to write "diary" entries that would become the words for his songs. Sandra spent over a year doing research to make sure the "diary" sounded real and historically accurate. It was a challenge because there are no writings left by Sally Hemings herself.

Famous singers have performed From the Diary of Sally Hemings. Mezzo-soprano Florence Quivar sang it at important places like the Library of Congress. In 2010, soprano Alyson Cambridge performed it at Carnegie Hall, a very famous music venue.

Sandra Seaton continued to explore the story of Sally Hemings in two more plays: Sally, which is a play for one actor, and A Bed Made in Heaven, which has many characters.

Other Notable Plays

Sandra Seaton's play The Will tells the story of an African-American family in Tennessee during the Reconstruction period after the Civil War. This play was performed in Idlewild, Michigan, a historic Black resort. One character in the play, Patti, was inspired by Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, an African-American opera singer from the Civil War era.

She also wrote comedies like Martha Stewart Slept Here (2008), which is set in an Indiana trailer park, and Estate Sale (2011), set in a Cleveland suburb.

Her play Music History (2010) is about African-American college students at the University of Illinois and their involvement in the civil rights movement. This play was discussed at Michigan State University as a way to understand issues of fairness and equality.

Recent Works and Recognition

In 2020, Sandra Seaton worked with composer Carlos Simon on a piece called Night Trip. It was performed at the Kennedy Center. Critics praised Sandra's words, saying they were poetic and blended well with the music. One critic said her lyrics were "transcendent," meaning they were very powerful and moving.

Sandra Seaton taught creative writing and African-American literature at Central Michigan University for 15 years.

Sandra Seaton's Works

Here are some of the plays, musicals, and other works Sandra Seaton has created:

Plays

• The Bridge Party (1989)
• The Will (1994)
• Do You Like Philip Roth? (2001)
• Room and Board (2002)
• Sally (2003)
• A Bed Made In Heaven (2005)
• Martha Stewart Slept Here (2008)
• A Chance Meeting (2009)
• Music History (2010)
• Estate Sale (2011)
• The Lookout (2013)
• Black for Dinner (2014)
• Chicago Trilogy (2015)
• The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson (2021)

Musicals

• Ogden Avenue (2016)

Films

• From the Diary of Sally Hemings, Glimmer Glass Festival (2020)
• Call Me By Name, Atlanta Black Theatre Festival (2020)
• Call Me By Name, excerpted in Hear Our Cry, (2020)
• The First Bluebird in the Morning, (2020)

Other Genres

• "Nightsong" [short story], Obsidian II: Black Literature in Review (Winter 1989)
• King: A Reflection on the Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (2005). This was a spoken word piece with music.
• Libretto: From The Diary of Sally Hemings, Music by William Bolcom (2000)
• Libretto: Vegetarian Wedding, Music by Eric Santos (2004)
• Libretto: Night Trip, Music by Carlos Simon (2020)
• Libretto: The First Bluebird in the Morning, Music by Carlos Simon (2020)
• Libretto: She Steps onto a Floating Stage, aria, Music by Carlos Simon (2021)
• Libretto: Divided Soul, aria, Music by Carlos Simon (2022)
• Libretto: Rebellious Bird, aria, Music by Carlos Simon (2022)
• Libretto: Dreamland: Tulsa 1921, Ploratorio, Music by Marques L. A. Garrett (2022)

Awards and Honors

Sandra Seaton has received several awards and special recognitions for her work:

• Annual Emma Lou Thornbrough Lecture, IUPUI and Butler University, November 2008
• She was the first writer-in-residence at Michigan State University College of Law from 2010-2011.
• Mark Twain Award from The Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature (2012)
• Theodore Ward Prize
• She has also had residencies at Yaddo and Ragdale artist colonies, which are places where artists can live and work.