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StateraArts members come from all over the USA and all genres of art-making. They are educators, arts leaders, activists, content-creators, professional artists, early career, mid-career, patrons, and community organizers. The Statera Member Spotlight is just one way StateraArts uplifts and amplifies the voices of our members. Today, we’d like to introduce you to Charissa Menefee.
StateraArts: What is your occupation or calling in the arts?
Charissa Menefee: Writer, Director, Actor, Educator, Activist
SA: What inspires your work most?
CM: Wonder. Meaning awe—seeing the rings of Saturn through a high-powered observatory telescope, standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon or in front of an incredible painting, witnessing an inspired live performance or an act of kindness, but also watching a quartet of ducklings play in the pond behind my house or tomatoes ripen or a child learn. And meaningful curiosity, wondering why things are the way they are and how they might, will, or should change.
SA: What organizations are you affiliated with?
CM: I am a professor at Iowa State University, where I teach creative writing, literature, and theatre, and I co-direct the MFA Program in Creative Writing & Environment. I am a member of the Dramatists Guild, serve on the board of directors of Humanities Iowa, and collaborate to write and make theatre with Code Red Playwrights, Protest Plays Project, 365 Women a Year, Little Black Dress INK, and The Arctic Cycle.
SA: Why did you become a StateraArts member?
CM: I was inspired by the mission. I had been looking for an organization like this, led by women who are dedicated to advocacy, equity, and positive change, who value collaboration, community-building, and the development of mentors and leaders.
SA: Tell us about one of your favorite projects.
CM: I recently launched The EcoTheatre Lab, and it is the creative center for the kinds of collaborations and theatre-making that matter most to me—plays, theatre actions, readings, workshops, and other events that focus on issues of social and environmental justice and encourage civic dialogue, interdisciplinary engagement, and community investment.
SA: What do you love most about your artistic community?
CM: My artistic communities all have something in common: they are mission-driven gift communities dedicated to collaboration, creativity, innovation, compassion, and justice.
SA: Any upcoming projects you'd like to share with us?
CM: I have an essay and poetry included in a wonderful new anthology, Telepoem Booth: Missed Calls and Other Poetry, edited by interdisciplinary artist Elizabeth Hellstern, available just this week. Although (like many others in the StateraArts community) my spring and summer readings, productions, festivals, and conferences have been canceled, I look forward to revising a collection of poetry, finishing a full-length historical drama, and drinking coffee in the sunshine.
SA: Tell us about another woman or non-binary artist who inspires your work.
CM: My maternal grandmother, a remarkable self-taught seamstress, wanted to go to college but couldn’t. Instead she read widely—newspapers to novels to philosophy to scripture—and truly embraced and modeled lifelong learning. I still proudly wear her art: the clothes she made for my mother and me.
SA: What does gender parity in the arts look like to you?
CM: Balance! Opportunities for all artists to practice their art, make a living, invest in their communities, and have access to support systems that level and upgrade the playing field, such as healthcare, affordable housing, childcare, and continuing education.
SA: Mentorship is at the core of the STATERA mission. Tell us about one of your mentors. How did they shape you or provide pathways for opportunity?
CM: Ironically, most of my mentors and role models in my profession were men, though my life was filled with strong, brilliant, hard-working female role models outside of academia and the arts. This has shaped my determination to be a mentor for younger women in my field; to take on challenges, overcome obstacles, and clear what paths I can for those who are following me.
About CHARISSA
Charissa Menefee is a multi-genre writer and theatre artist. She is the founder and artistic director of The EcoTheatre Lab, vice-president of the Humanities Iowa board of directors, and co-director of the MFA Program in Creative Writing & Environment at Iowa State University. She has a selection of plays on the New Play Exchange, and her poetry can be found in literary journals such as Adanna, Poets Reading the News, The Wild Word, Dragon Poet Review, and Terrene, in Telepoem Booths, and in her book, When I Stopped Counting. Her favorite roles as an actor include Ella in Bells Are Ringing, Agnes in Agnes of God, Mrs. Kendal in The Elephant Man, Cecily in The Importance of Being Earnest, and Joan in The Guys. Website: www.charissamenefee.com