alumnae Connection were diagnosed four years ago with ovarian cancer. No to O has just received 501c3 status, and they will be holding a fundraiser in Winston Salem in April. Half of the funds raised for No to O will go to ovarian cancer research, and the other half will go to local cancer services. Donations may be made online, and Ebert would love the support of her Meredith classmates, faculty and administrators. Billie Hartsell Freeman writes that she has twin granddaughters born October 2011. Her daughter-in-law Anna Taylor Freeman, ’99, and son are their parents. Nileen Hunt and Roger Austin are building an addition to their home, a library, and a sunroom for her and an office and workshop for him. She was also diagnosed with cancer. Janet Pugh Martin and husband have just moved to Myrtle Beach, S.C., to be near their son, his wife and two granddaughters. Her son owns a restaurant there named The Aspen Grill. Sally Howard Moore continues to help her husband with several sand sculptures a year. They also run an event for children with cancer and their families called Mile of Hope, held the second weekend in May at Atlantic Beach, N.C. Carol Andrews Southerland and her husband have “retired” but continue to work! Her husband has just finished as interim headmaster at Harrells Academy and she is tutoring two days a week SAT/ACT prep. Southerland and her husband enjoy a granddaughter and a grandson, with another on the way!
’70
Susan Soloway Daul won the highest award as a traditional artisan in this year’s Directory of Traditional American Crafts. Her work is shown in the 2012 August issue of Early American Life magazine. Karen Watson Watts volunteered at the Democratic National Convention that was held in Charlotte, N.C.
’71
After living in Raleigh for 28 years, Gail Bartholomew Kiker and her husband moved to Pinehurst, N.C., in early 2011. From her home, Kiker continues to run her organizational consulting business that specializes in work with non-profit organizations. The move to Pinehurst has put her closer to her two sons and three-year-old granddaughter. She also enjoys spending long weekends at Holden Beach, N.C. Margaret Tharrington retired in November 2011 after being a commercial banker for 38 years. She writes that she loves being retired.
’73
Carolyn H. Carter was elected as a Board Member
for District 8 of North Carolina Retired Governmental Employees’ Association.
Alumna Finds Success in the Arts By Melyssa Allen
T
heatre has taken Lisa Rost-Welling, ’03, from Meredith College to London, where she is a producer and performer. “Since moving to London, I’ve been fortunate enough to work in both production and as a performer for independent films and fringe theatre on up to the BBC and “The Lion King” in the West End,” said Rost-Welling, who studied theatre at Meredith. One of her recent accomplishments was the Tower Theatre Company production of “Baba Shakespeare” by Emmeline Winterbotham. The play follows the Buckinghams, a British acting troupe in 1960s India. “The Buckinghams journey from desert palace to hill station, performing Shakespeare amid declining audiences, changing circumstances and ever more slender means,” Rost-Welling explained. “While the Buckinghams fight to come to terms with a changing world, their struggle is mirrored in the love triangle between daughter Lizzie, Sanju, a handsome Indian playboy and Manjula, a glamorous Bollywood film star.” Rost-Welling served as producer. “If you were to imagine a ringmaster in the midst of a full-blown, three-ring circus, you wouldn’t be far off,” she said. “As producer, it was my job to steer the production so that ultimately, it was successfully staged.” The play was selected for The Royal Shakespeare Company’s inaugural Open Stages project, a showcase of productions “bridging the gap between professional, “Baba Shakespeare” fringe and amateur theatre.” Productions were required to have a Shakespearean element, new artistic collaborations and a variety of theatre techniques. “The creative advantage to our production was the ability to originate the design concept, which needed to blend Shakespeare and Bollywood, Britain and India, theatre and film,” she said. The production incorporated original set and costume design, musical score, choreography and puppetry, which broadened the appeal of “Baba Shakespeare.” “Baba Shakespeare” had a three-week run at the Arcola Theatre, a prominent fringe venue in London. It was selected by the RSC from more than 70 Open Stages productions to represent the London region at the World Shakespeare Festival, which was held in July. Rost-Welling and her team are now working on proposals for additional productions of “Baba Shakespeare.” Rost-Welling finds fulfillment in all the opportunities she’s found in the arts. “What’s fulfilling is when a project ends, when the dust settles, you can look at it and proudly think, ‘I was part of that,’” she said. “Then you get to go back out there, find a new opportunity, and do it again.”
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