The 2019-2020 George R.R. Pflaum Memorial Lecture at Emporia State University will be presented by Alum Drew Shirley (BFA, 2007), an actor and director who lives in Chicago with his wife, Erika. He will present the Pflaum memorial lecture at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23 in the R.Q. Frederickson Theatre in Roosevelt Hall. After his remarks, Shirley will take questions from those in attendance.
Shirley appeared in numerous ESU Theatre productions including “The Laramie Project,” “Our Town,” “Footloose,” “Proof,” “The Cocoanuts,” “Arms and the Man” and “Bus Stop.” He was the artistic director for Zoiks! improv comedy for three years. After graduating from ESU, he earned his MFA in acting at the University of Illinois. After stints in California, Utah and Arizona, he settled in Chicago where he currently resides.
Most recently he served as guest director for Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” at Southwest Shakespeare in Mesa, Arizona. In Chicago, he has worked with several companies, including Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Erasing the Distance, Theater Wit, and One Year Chekhov. He has created a podcast called “DMDrew” where Chicago actors play Dungeons and Dragons. He has also worked with the Utah Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare by the Sea, Kingsmen Shakespeare Company, The Hermosa Beach Playhouse, Fraud & Phony and Little Fish Theatre.
While visiting Emporia, Shirley will meet with students, have lunch with the faculty, visit classes and attend the fall production of “The House of Blue Leaves.” His appearance at the university is sponsored by the Department of Communication and Theatre as well as ESU Special Events.
The annual Pflaum Lecture is in memory of George R.R. Pflaum. He taught thousands of students, co-wrote a basic public speaking textbook and established a nationally recognized debate program. From 1948 until 1961, he chaired the Department of Speech (now Communication and Theatre) and presided over the establishment of Curli-Q, the annual Homecoming Review that was precursor to our annual Homecoming Scholarship Musical, and Summer Theatre, which is now the longest running summer stock operation on the Great Plains.
In 1961, Pflaum turned departmental leadership over to Karl Bruder, whom he had hired in 1950, to return to the classroom and to chair KSTC’s 1963 centennial celebration. Doc Pflaum remained a member of the Emporia community until his death in January 1977. His service to ESU is remembered by his lecture; by endowed scholarships in debate and in theatre; by a national invitational debate tournament named in his honor; and by the George R.R. Pflaum Debate Room in King Hall.