Incite/Insight Spring-Summer 2019 Incite_Insight—Spring_Summer 2019 Final | Page 15

For Two Professors, Radical
Commuting is the Way to Work
WRITTEN BY ALEX ATES
It’s certainly no abnormality for
workers in Boston to commute from
suburbs. For a nationally work-
obsessed culture, the routine of
commuting is an American ritual. At
Emerson College, within the small
school’s musical theatre faculty (with
a ratio of one faculty member for
every eight students), there are two
professors who have extraordinarily
long commutes to work. Diane
DiCroce and Sariva Goetz commute
hundreds of miles weekly from the
New York City metropolitan area
into Boston to teach students at
Emerson’s downtown campus—which
is only a few blocks away from the
Amtrak stop at South Station. Incite/
Insight asked DiCroce and Goetz
about the lifestyle of teaching theatre
at a school in a different state from
where you reside—what are the
benefits and the challenges?
Where do you live?
Sariva Goetz: Yonkers, NY.
Diane DiCroce: Maplewood, NJ.
How do you get to work?
SG: I drive weekly between Yonkers
and Boston—I have a Prius which is
great on gas mileage!
DD: From New Jersey to Boston
on Amtrak! I consider myself an
Amtrak diva. I am finishing my third
consecutive year commuting for this
wonderful job with these wonderful
students, faculty, and staff and have
earned Amtrak “Select Plus” status—
V.I.P.!
What does your weekly schedule
look like?
SG: I am usually in Boston Monday
Professor Diane DiCroce
through Thursday during the
academic year and in Yonkers Friday
through Sunday. I travel to Boston
on Sunday evenings, and back to
Yonkers on Thursday evenings. My
schedule at Emerson is crazy busy—
teaching two or three classes per
semester, music directing one show
per year, coaching students several
hours per week, holding office and
advising hours, attending faculty
meetings, and serving on two
college committees. Additionally, I
try and see as much student work
as possible and stay current on
what is going on in Boston’s theatre
community. And finally, I try to
socialize with friends and colleagues
when I can find the time. When I am
in Yonkers, I am prepping for class,
working on outside creative projects,
spending time with friends and
family, and keeping current on what’s
going on in the New York City theatre
community. Life is busy!
DD: I leave my family in New Jersey
right around dinnertime on Sunday
evening during the academic
Professor Sariva Goetz
year and teach-and-live in Boston
Monday through Thursday, on
average. I’m in Boston Monday
through Friday when in production
with Emerson Stage (which is the
department’s producing entity).
What are the challenges of radical
commuting?
SG: Traffic, exhaustion—and sitting
way too much!
DD: First, family: having a family
and knowing that my husband and
daughter are shouldering a lot more
responsibility at home, work, school
without me physically being present.
Second, always having to pack a bag.
What are the pros of radical
commuting?
SG: On Thursday evenings, I find that
it’s a good way to decompress after
my work week. And on Sundays, it
gives me a chance to have some
quiet time and think about the week
INCITE/INSIGHT 15