Nadine Purvis Schmidt to perform "Apples in Winter" Sept. 24-25
Published Thursday, September 18, 2025
For her Fall 2025 sabbatical project, Professor Nadine Purvis Schmidt will be on tour, performing in the one-woman show Apples in Winter, written by Jennifer Fawcett and produced by TheatreMidwest. The tour opens with two performances at SMSU on Wednesday, September 24 and Thursday, September 25 at 7:30 pm in the SMSU Black Box Theatre located in the Fine Arts Building. There is no admission charge, however, seating is limited. For more details and a link to reserve seats can be found on the TheatreMidwest website at https://www.theatremidwest.org/apples-in-winter.html
In this play, Professor Schmidt is Miriam who is making an apple pie for her son. Years ago, he committed a horrible crime and has been on death row ever since. In the waning hours before the end comes, he is granted a last meal. This is a play about monsters and the mothers of monsters. And about how we care for each other. And about how to make a really good apple pie. From scratch.
In her radio interview about the show and the professional development aspect of this work, Schmidt said, “I was an actor for many years before I became a professor. And since I've become a professor, I've tried to keep up my acting professionally. I think it's helpful in a couple of ways. One is that I love acting, and it's my primary training, background and experience, and so I want to keep doing that. But also enriches what I'm able to do in the classroom with my students, because everything I'm doing now, I'm thinking, how might this be useful in the acting class I'm teaching in spring semester? I feel it’s important for my students to see that I practice what I preach as an actor, that I'm not just talking about having a goal, having tactics, and making a connection, but that I understand it because that's part of what I do in my craft as an actor. It also helps me to have empathy for them in that situation, so when I'm directing them, I remember what it's like to be an actor receiving direction, and then that helps me have a more collaborative experience with them.”
The performances are open to the public with reservations recommended. Visit the TheatreMidwest website at https://www.theatremidwest.org/apples-in-winter.html
To learn more about the SMSU Entertainment and Theatre Arts program and the 2025-26 season, visit www.smsu.edu/go/theatre
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