EDUCATOR
FEATURED EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE
TEACHING STATEMENT
My classroom is a studio of creativity and exploration where everyone’s successes and failures are celebrated equally. It’s a space for the student to experiment, take risks, and push boundaries. My classroom is a place where students can process their fear of failure, reframe the definition of failure, and see it as an opportunity to grow rather than regress. This growth is measured through a feedback-driven evaluation process. Students receive constant evaluation from me, their peers, and themselves. This frequent critique process allows the students to refine their work, make thoughtful artistic choices, and learn from their experiences in the classroom. In addition to the feedback process, growth is accomplished using clowning in the classroom. Clowning inspires a rooted sense of empathy and self-awareness, which helps create well-rounded theatre artists who can engage with their craft and audiences in an impactful way.
Theatre is a medium that allows individuals to express themselves authentically. As an educator, I make a point to help students tap into their unique voices and talents by exploring and exposing them to numerous acting and movement techniques. This curricular versatility allows each student to explore different approaches to find the avenue of expression or style that works best for them and the avenue that will benefit them best from one project to the next. I encourage students to test their own creativity and embrace their individuality. This discovery and ownership of a personal process help develop unique and strong artists of the future.
DEI STATEMENT
I encourage and embrace stories that reflect all walks of life. Through my teaching, I advocate for students to bring their authentic selves to their work. By encouraging each individual’s authenticity, I develop a learning/creative space ripe for free and inclusive exploration. Through this boost of self-acceptance, audiences and classmates connect to these authentic/individual performances on a deeper, more accepting level.
Many communities are underrepresented onstage and in the classroom; I hope to encourage and explore acting and movement techniques from outside the theatre “canon” to expand the curriculum and student’s experiences. I am devoted to creating opportunities for those marginalized populations and encouraging students from these populations to create their own work in their voice and share that with others. By providing space in the creative process to these communities, I ensure that the spaces/performances I’m involved with now and spaces/performances students will one day be a part of later will genuinely reflect the world we live in.