Briefly Noted

Expert on Impostor Syndrome to Speak at Pitt on Feb. 28

The Swanson School of Engineering’s Office of Diversity will present a talk by Valerie Young, an internationally known speaker and expert on the topic of  “the impostor syndrome,” from noon to 1:30 p.m. Feb. 28 in Room 102 Benedum Hall. Young’s presentation is titled “How to Feel as Bright and Capable as Everyone Seems to Think You Are: What Every Woman and Man Needs to Know About Competence, the Impostor Syndrome, and the Art of Winging It.”

The impostor syndrome exists when intelligent, competent people believe that they’re fooling people—deep down they feel like impostors, fakes, and frauds and live in fear of being discovered.

Young has led workshops and given speeches for managers and professionals in diverse corporations, professional associations, and universities. Prior to beginning ImposterSyndrome.com, she was the manager of strategic marketing for a Fortune 500 company and director of training for an international productivity-enhancement company. Her doctoral research at the University of Massachusetts Amherst focused on understanding and addressing internal barriers to women’s academic and occupational success and satisfaction.

The talk is open to Pitt faculty, staff, and students. Box lunches will be available to those who preregister with Terri Kennelly-Cook at eodadmin@pitt.edu.

Pitt Repertory Theatre Presents Churchill in Short(s)?

Pitt Repertory Theatre presents a compilation of three rarely performed one-act plays by Caryl Churchill in Churchill in Short(s)? Feb. 17-27, in Pitt’s Henry Heymann Theatre, lower level of Stephen Foster Memorial, 4301 Forbes Ave., Oakland. Tuesday through Saturday performances are at 8 p.m.; Sunday matinees are at 2 p.m. Information on the plays follows.

• The After-Dinner Joke, originally produced for television, examines charity through the idealism of its main character, Selby, and the politics surrounding her charitable efforts.

• This Is a Chair is a series of vignettes dramatizing the challenges of everyday communication.

• Lovesick, originally a radio play, focuses on a therapist and his patients and their struggles to find love.

Tickets are $25 general admission; $20 for Pitt faculty, staff, and alumni; and $12 for students. To order, call 412-624-PLAY (7529) or visit www.play.pitt.edu. A talk-back with the actors will take place following the Feb. 20 performance.

Churchill in Short(s)? is directed by Tommy Costello, a fifth-year teaching fellow at Pitt pursuing a PhD in theater and performance studies.

Caryl Churchill is an English playwright known for her experiments with form and daring language. Her best-known work, Cloud 9 (1979), is considered a landmark of feminist and postmodern literature.