Assistant Professor of Cinematic Arts & Theatre
The University of North Alabama • Florence, Alabama
The University of North Alabama • Florence, Alabama
"The theatre demands of its craftsmen that they know their jobs."
~ Robert Edmund Jones
~ Robert Edmund Jones
My teaching philosophy is grounded in two core commitments: fostering the development of an autonomous, sustainable artistic practice in students, and cultivating a learning environment defined by inclusivity, clarity, and mutual respect. I encourage students to view each course and production experience as a laboratory—an active site of inquiry where experimentation, failure, and reflection are essential to growth. Through this process, they are challenged to refine their methodologies and cultivate a personal, rigorous approach to their craft.
Central to my pedagogy is the belief that transparency and clearly articulated expectations are necessary for student success. I aim to equip students not only with technical skills, but with the critical frameworks and reflective habits that enable them to navigate their careers with independence and integrity. By prioritizing their agency and guiding them through a structured yet flexible learning process, I support their evolution into thoughtful, capable artists and collaborators.
Inspired by Stella Adler’s assertion that “Your talent is your choice,” I resist pedagogies that prioritize technical perfection at the expense of artistic depth. Instead, I cultivate theatre practitioners whose decisions are driven by interdisciplinary knowledge, aesthetic curiosity, and a commitment to meaning-making. This approach nurtures “thinking artists” whose work is intellectually informed, emotionally resonant, and artistically innovative—qualities essential for contemporary performance-makers navigating a rapidly evolving field.
Central to my pedagogy is the belief that transparency and clearly articulated expectations are necessary for student success. I aim to equip students not only with technical skills, but with the critical frameworks and reflective habits that enable them to navigate their careers with independence and integrity. By prioritizing their agency and guiding them through a structured yet flexible learning process, I support their evolution into thoughtful, capable artists and collaborators.
Inspired by Stella Adler’s assertion that “Your talent is your choice,” I resist pedagogies that prioritize technical perfection at the expense of artistic depth. Instead, I cultivate theatre practitioners whose decisions are driven by interdisciplinary knowledge, aesthetic curiosity, and a commitment to meaning-making. This approach nurtures “thinking artists” whose work is intellectually informed, emotionally resonant, and artistically innovative—qualities essential for contemporary performance-makers navigating a rapidly evolving field.
A full teaching philosophy, a diversity statement, and a sample syllabus are available upon request.
"I’d like to give a special thanks to our director Lucas Skjaret for bringing this story to life. He did an amazing job with everything we had, even though we had a small budget and we’re a small liberal arts college that not many people know of. He took us in, believed in us, and pushed us to what he saw our potential could be, and that’s something I’ll always cherish in a director and a mentor."
- Student Evaluation
- Student Evaluation
Academia
Previous Appointments
Concord University - Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts (Tenure-Track) & Program Director - 2024/2025
Baylor University - Lecturer - 2023/2024
Baylor University - Graduate Teaching Assistant - 2021/2023
Educational Membership & Associations
The National Alliance of Acting Teachers
The Association for Theatre in Higher Education
Mid-America Theatre Conference - Junior Liaison (2025-2026) and Graduate Liaison (2022-2024)
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 Specialties
Introduction to Theatre; Script Analysis; Acting & Performance (Stage/Film/New Media); Devising/Stage Movement, Musical Theatre Performance & Studies, Directing; Theatre History; Dramaturgy; Contemporary Theatre; New Play Development/Playwriting; Queer Theatre; and Ibsen & Nordic Drama.
Concord University - Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts (Tenure-Track) & Program Director - 2024/2025
Baylor University - Lecturer - 2023/2024
Baylor University - Graduate Teaching Assistant - 2021/2023
Educational Membership & Associations
The National Alliance of Acting Teachers
The Association for Theatre in Higher Education
Mid-America Theatre Conference - Junior Liaison (2025-2026) and Graduate Liaison (2022-2024)
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 Specialties
Introduction to Theatre; Script Analysis; Acting & Performance (Stage/Film/New Media); Devising/Stage Movement, Musical Theatre Performance & Studies, Directing; Theatre History; Dramaturgy; Contemporary Theatre; New Play Development/Playwriting; Queer Theatre; and Ibsen & Nordic Drama.
Courses Taught
The University of North Alabama
Beginning Acting
Scenography
Beginning Acting
Scenography
Concord University
Introduction to Theatre Theatre History
Modern Drama Acting
Play Production Professional Internship
Introduction to Theatre Theatre History
Modern Drama Acting
Play Production Professional Internship
|
Baylor University
Introduction to Theatre Introduction to Theatre (Online) Acting 1: Realism |
Baylor University Teaching Assistant
Introduction to Theatre 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
Outreach
WV Thesfest One-Act Judicator | 2025 - Marshall University
WV Thesfest One-Act Judicator | 2025 - Marshall University
Workshops & Panels
Contemporary Collaboration: A Roundtable on Directing in 2025
Mid-America Theatre Conference | March 2025
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
Mid-America Theatre Conference | March 2025
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"
The Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal | Volume 47 - 2024 | Co-Author
Book Review:
Muscle Works: Physical Culture and the Performance of Masculinity by Broderick D.V. Chow
Theatre Topics | Forthcoming - 2025
Another Day's Begun: Thornton Wilder’s Our Town in the 21st Century by Howard Sherman
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
"Character Creation: Imaginative Stimuli Meets Multi-Faceted Characters"
The Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal | Volume 47 - 2024 | Co-Author
Book Review:
Muscle Works: Physical Culture and the Performance of Masculinity by Broderick D.V. Chow
Theatre Topics | Forthcoming - 2025
Another Day's Begun: Thornton Wilder’s Our Town in the 21st Century by Howard Sherman
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