Teaching Philosophy

1. Conscientious Theatre Practices create learning environments conducive to cultural awareness and competency.

2. Theatre is uniquely suited to Social Justice in Pedagogy and Practice, because storytelling both defines and responds to cultural narrative. If social justice practices and principles are integrated into the classroom, then they permeate the developmental foundations of future artists who make up the industry and define our cultural narratives.

3. We students of theatre learn best through kinesthesis or the principle of learning by doing.

4. Failure is a necessary part of learning. We must allow new endeavors to be difficult and feel awkward. Patience, perseverance, and routine study are how we develop mastery.

5. Theatre is storytelling. Theatrical designers advance the storytelling through the manifestation of abstracts such as concepts, feelings, and relationships. Costume and makeup designers collaborate with performers to express these abstracts. Renderings are our common language, the elements of design our alphabet.

6. Theatre is fully Art and fully Business. Without organizational structures and hard deadlines, we cannot have freedom to create.

7. Art is personal to the artist and relatable to the audience.