APSU to host free workshop with acclaimed playwright Shepsu Aakhu on Dec. 2
By: Dr. Andrea Spofford November 24, 2025
Shepsu Aakhu, an award-winning playwright and founding member of the 惭补鈥檃迟 Production Association of Afrikan Centered Theatre (MPAACT). | Contributed photo
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. 鈥 Austin Peay State University鈥檚 Department of Theatre and Dance, with support from the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts, is hosting playwright Shepsu Aakhu for a free public workshop from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 2, in the Margaret Fort Trahern Lab Theatre.
鈥淚 worked with Shepsu in graduate school and it was one of the defining moments in my training,鈥 said Talon Beeson, chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance. 鈥淚鈥檓 thrilled that APSU can give that same opportunity to the community and 蝉迟耻诲别苍迟蝉.鈥
For more information about this playwriting masterclass, contact Talon Beeson beesont@apsu.edu. To learn about future CECA events and productions, visit /ceca/.
About the Playwright
Shepsu Aakhu is a founding member of the and has developed several critically acclaimed works for the organization. Among them are: Never the Milk and Honey; By Association; Starting Over; Feral; Warm on the Coolin鈥 Board; Speaking in Tongues/Babel; Ten Square; Kiwi Black; The Abesha Conspiracy; Kosi Dasa; and Trouble the Water. Shepsu is a two-time recipient of the Theodore Ward Prize for Playwriting (Ten Square & Kiwi Black), an Artistic Fellow in Scriptworks (Illinois Arts Council 鈥 2004), and a six-time nominee for Best Original Work (BTAA of Chicago) with awards for The Abesha Conspiracy and Trouble the Water. Additionally, he is a seven-time nominee for the Joseph Jefferson Citation, with awards for Best New Work (Speaking in Tongues/Babel), and Original Music (Kosi Dasa and Kiwi).
Shepsu also writes for television and feature films.
About the Department of Theatre and Dance
Austin Peay State University鈥檚 Department of Theatre and Dance is a training program that focuses on the professional skills expected on any stage, set, studio, audition or in any dance company. It offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts with concentrations in acting, dance, design, musical theatre, and stage management as well as a Bachelor of Arts with concentrations in theatre and dance.
About the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts
Since 1985, the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts (CECA, or "seek-ah") has been providing students, the Clarksville community, and the Middle Tennessee region with engaging experiences through the Art + Design, Creative Writing, Music, and Theatre & Dance programs at APSU. CECA brings as many as 85 guest artists to Clarksville each year and presents up to 100 public arts and culture events annually, including concerts, exhibitions, artist lectures, master classes, artist residencies, and more. In addition, CECA provides the arts faculty at APSU with research opportunities to enhance their professional growth as well as numerous student scholarships each year to support APSU's own emerging artists. To learn more about CECA, contact Dr. Andrea Spofford at spofforda@apsu.edu.