Assistant Professor & Program Director of Theatre Arts
Concord University • Athens, West Virginia
Concord University • Athens, West Virginia
"The theatre demands of its craftsmen that they know their jobs."
~ Robert Edmund Jones
~ Robert Edmund Jones
I am a collaborator alongside each student as they explore their artistic identities. Facts and techniques matter, but I am more interested in helping theatre-makers of tomorrow grow into their creative voices, wants, and aesthetics. Regardless of where life takes them, I want them to learn to take up space responsibly, coordinate their time, speak with authority and nuance, and work entirely with grace and humility. As a theatre educator, my teaching lives within a liminal space, requiring theoretical inquiry and technical and skills-based output. I hold this dichotomy firmly in my pedagogical hands. As an academic, I value a rigorous scholarly foundation in all teaching areas, regardless of the specific course or subject. Be it directing, theatre histories, or performance-oriented courses, I always include theory and scholarship to complement the more practical, product-centric objectives. This is how I create a holistic approach to arts education.
Stella Adler once said, "Your talent is your choice." In that spirit, I avoid molding well-oiled theatrical automatons who can beautifully hit their mark on stage; instead, I teach fully formed theatre practitioners whose artistic decisions are founded on an informed nuance drawn from wide-ranging facets, disciplines, and sources. Through this approach, their choices become brilliant, bold, and effective. This guiding principle is how they become 'thinking artists' whose praxis is mature, refined, and conscious.
Stella Adler once said, "Your talent is your choice." In that spirit, I avoid molding well-oiled theatrical automatons who can beautifully hit their mark on stage; instead, I teach fully formed theatre practitioners whose artistic decisions are founded on an informed nuance drawn from wide-ranging facets, disciplines, and sources. Through this approach, their choices become brilliant, bold, and effective. This guiding principle is how they become 'thinking artists' whose praxis is mature, refined, and conscious.
A full teaching philosophy, a diversity statement, and a sample syllabus are available upon request.
Pedagogy Training & Certifications
Teaching Capstone for Higher Education Certificate | Baylor University
Designing for Online Teaching Success (D.O.T.S.) Certificate | Baylor University
Awareness without Judgement - Actor Training Pedagogy | Stella Adler Studio of Acting
Teaching Capstone for Higher Education Certificate | Baylor University
Designing for Online Teaching Success (D.O.T.S.) Certificate | Baylor University
Awareness without Judgement - Actor Training Pedagogy | Stella Adler Studio of Acting
Teaching Specialties
Introduction to Theatre; Script Analysis; Acting & Performance; Directing (History & Practice); Theatre History; Dramaturgy; Dramatic Theory; Contemporary Theatre; New Play Development/Playwriting; Queer Theatre; and Ibsen & Nordic Drama.
Introduction to Theatre; Script Analysis; Acting & Performance; Directing (History & Practice); Theatre History; Dramaturgy; Dramatic Theory; Contemporary Theatre; New Play Development/Playwriting; Queer Theatre; and Ibsen & Nordic Drama.
Concord University
Introduction to Theatre Theatre History
Modern Drama Acting
Play Production Directing
Introduction to Theatre Theatre History
Modern Drama Acting
Play Production Directing
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Baylor University
Introduction to Theatre Introduction to Theatre (Online) Acting 1: Realism |
Baylor University Teaching Assistant
Musical Theatre Workshop (New Musical Development) Teaching in English for International Teaching Assistants |
Masterclasses
Dramaturgy - Practical Analysis for Directors | Baylor University
Advanced Directing - Immersive Theatre | Baylor University
Dramaturgy - Practical Analysis for Directors | Baylor University
Advanced Directing - Immersive Theatre | Baylor University
Panels & Workshops
Collab-a-what-now?: A conversation on contemporary collaboration
Association for Theatre in Higher Education | August 2024
On Directing: Exploring the Mise-en-Scène of Carrie Cracknell's Medea
Comparative Drama Conference | 2024
Character Creation: Imaginative Stimuli Meets Multi-Faceted Characters
Southeastern Theatre Conference | 2024 | Co-Presenter
Queer Affinity Gathering
Association for Theatre in Higher Education | 2023 | Co-Coordinator
Defusing Queerphobia in the Classroom (‘Keeping the Faith: Media(t)ations at a Parochial University’)
Association for Theatre in Higher End | 2023 | Co-Coordinator
From A Remembered Norway: An Exploration on the Causatum of Commonweal Theatre’s Ibsen Festival
Texas Education Theatre Association - Higher Education Research Conference | 2023
Creating Multi-Disciplinary Anti-Hierarchical Rehearsal and Performance Spaces
Association for Theatre in Higher Education/V.A.S.T.A. | 2023
Devising and New Play Nurturing: Encouraging Diverse Voices through New and Rebuilt Practices
Association for Theatre in Higher Education | 2023
From a Remembered Norway: An Exploration on the Causatum of Commonweal Theatre’s Ibsen Festival
Texas Education Theatre Association - Higher Education Research Conference | 2023
A Remembered Norway: The Imagined Self through Commonweal Theatre’s Ibsen Festival
MidAmerica Theatre Conference | 2023
A Remembered Norway: Exploring Commonweal Theatre’s Ibsen Festival
Comparative Drama Conference | 2023
Director & Designer Discussion: An Interview with Joel Sass Session Facilitator
Director’s Lab North | 2021
Collab-a-what-now?: A conversation on contemporary collaboration
Association for Theatre in Higher Education | August 2024
On Directing: Exploring the Mise-en-Scène of Carrie Cracknell's Medea
Comparative Drama Conference | 2024
Character Creation: Imaginative Stimuli Meets Multi-Faceted Characters
Southeastern Theatre Conference | 2024 | Co-Presenter
Queer Affinity Gathering
Association for Theatre in Higher Education | 2023 | Co-Coordinator
Defusing Queerphobia in the Classroom (‘Keeping the Faith: Media(t)ations at a Parochial University’)
Association for Theatre in Higher End | 2023 | Co-Coordinator
From A Remembered Norway: An Exploration on the Causatum of Commonweal Theatre’s Ibsen Festival
Texas Education Theatre Association - Higher Education Research Conference | 2023
Creating Multi-Disciplinary Anti-Hierarchical Rehearsal and Performance Spaces
Association for Theatre in Higher Education/V.A.S.T.A. | 2023
Devising and New Play Nurturing: Encouraging Diverse Voices through New and Rebuilt Practices
Association for Theatre in Higher Education | 2023
From a Remembered Norway: An Exploration on the Causatum of Commonweal Theatre’s Ibsen Festival
Texas Education Theatre Association - Higher Education Research Conference | 2023
A Remembered Norway: The Imagined Self through Commonweal Theatre’s Ibsen Festival
MidAmerica Theatre Conference | 2023
A Remembered Norway: Exploring Commonweal Theatre’s Ibsen Festival
Comparative Drama Conference | 2023
Director & Designer Discussion: An Interview with Joel Sass Session Facilitator
Director’s Lab North | 2021
Publications
Articles
Character Creation: Imaginative Stimuli Meets Multi-Faceted Characters (Pending)
The Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal | Volume 47 - 2024 | Co-Author
Book Review:
Another Day's Begun: Thornton Wilder’s Our Town in the 21st Century by Howard Sherman (Book Review)
The Journal of American Drama and Theatre | Spring 2024
Storytelling on Screen: An Online Playbook Theatre Archive Guidebook; by Lebron, Rosin, & Vogel
The Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal | Volume 46 - 2023
Theatrical Worlds; edited by Charles Mitchell
The Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal | Volume 45 - 2022
Performance Review:
Into the Woods at Zach Theatre
Texas Theatre Journal | Volume 18 - 2022
Articles
Character Creation: Imaginative Stimuli Meets Multi-Faceted Characters (Pending)
The Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal | Volume 47 - 2024 | Co-Author
Book Review:
Another Day's Begun: Thornton Wilder’s Our Town in the 21st Century by Howard Sherman (Book Review)
The Journal of American Drama and Theatre | Spring 2024
Storytelling on Screen: An Online Playbook Theatre Archive Guidebook; by Lebron, Rosin, & Vogel
The Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal | Volume 46 - 2023
Theatrical Worlds; edited by Charles Mitchell
The Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal | Volume 45 - 2022
Performance Review:
Into the Woods at Zach Theatre
Texas Theatre Journal | Volume 18 - 2022
Three Sisters | Baylor University | Photo by Jared Tseng