Shepherd University may be opening its doors to a music and theater study abroad opportunity in Cuba.
Shepherd University and the Contemporary American Theater Festival are hosting Norge Espinosa Mendoza this week – a well-known poet, playwright, actor, and LGBT activist from Cuba.
Mendoza is active in the international art and theater world and is partnering with the School of Arts in Havana, Cuba, to encourage educational exchanges with the United States.
Mendoza says Shepherd is ideal for the program because of its theater and music studies. He says he hopes plans for the exchange begin this year.
“Exchange is always useful if you’re doing it in the right way,” he explained, “and I think that it could be very helpful to know in Cuba that this university exists and that we can do something together and open a new gate.”
Cuba is well-known for its music, art, and theater scene. In July 2015, Cuba and the United States restored diplomatic relations after being severed in 1961.