I am Sarah J. Adams and I am an FWO postdoctoral fellow at Ghent University in Belgium. My research project explores the modes, scenarios, tropes, and techniques used to design “blackness” on the comic Dutch stage and investigates the different functions of these modes of representation before the heyday of minstrel culture in the 1840s. As my Ghent supervisor Kornee van der Haven was once based at the Freie Universität, I was able to apply for the Research Alumni Program. I was fortunate enough to be awarded a grant and I was a visiting scholar at Freie Universität’s Theater Institute in November 2021.

During my stay, Covid-numbers were high and regulations increasingly strict. Few people were working on campus and archival institutes indicated that they had to deal with an immense backlog of work from previous Covid-waves. However, my research stay at the FU was a wonderful experience. My host, Prof. Jan Lazardzig, did his very best to introduce me to his colleagues from in- and outside the FU community. He also organized a colloquium during which I was able to present my work and discuss the methodological problems I face in my research. This was all incredibly rewarding.

Moreover, I was delighted to learn more about the research conducted at the Theater Institute and my stay was an excellent opportunity to revitalize links between the Institute and Thalia—the joint theater network of Ghent University and the Free University of Brussels. If all goes well, I hope to welcome Jan Lazardzig in Ghent soon!