I ask my students to do a lot of scary things. Public speaking? Scary. Acting? Scary. Change? Definitely scary. I have been dealing with all three for decades now, and my heart still flutters at the thought. To help counter fear and encourage active engagement, I model respectful and caring behavior. I set high but achievable expectations, reward effort rather than condemn failure, and hold space for personal, as well as artistic, discovery. I also create opportunities for students to interact with one another through large and small group discussions, collaborative exercises, and constructive feedback sessions. Such interactions promote an environment of mutual learning, which teaches the students more than I ever could alone.

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Like many others, I struggle with the ethical implications of preparing students for the unpredictable realm of professional theatre. I often discuss it with my students, not to scare them away from what I have found to be an immensely rewarding profession but to provide them with the information needed to make educated life decisions. Regardless of the outcome of such decisions, I aim to instill in my students values that will nourish and fortify them for years to come. I encourage my students to value:

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Exploration:  From Shakespearean classics to contemporary devised works, theatre provides a funhouse mirror of sorts - distorting and questioning the world around us as we search for our own reflection.  We may never find the answers, but there is so much to learn in the process.

 

Compassion: By adopting alternative perspectives, theatre artists promote understanding and bridge political, social, and cultural divides. I invite students to embrace these practices both on and off stage.

 

Collaboration: Theatre artists work together to share stories and interpret meanings. Such collaboration requires mutual respect. We may not agree – in fact, dissent often generates creativity and innovation – but we must trust and appreciate one another.

 

Failure: Theatre thrives on creative spontaneity and healthy risk-taking. Consequently, failure is inevitable. I encourage students to see failure as a constructive step in the pursuit of theatrical epiphanies. Be professional. Never make the same mistake twice, but never stop making mistakes.

 

Themselves: Theatre can be an unforgiving discipline – worthwhile certainly, but also frustrating, disheartening, and often exhausting. We must know ourselves. Celebrate our strengths. Accept our weaknesses. Always strive to improve, but never forget the joy that theatre brings.

 

My favorite teachers are those who allow themselves to be human, who model not only scholarly and artistic excellence but also how to be in the world. Borrowing a phrase from communications consultant Brian Shapiro, in teaching theatre we ask students to be “exceptionally human”: to feel the full extremity of emotions, to stretch the body, to modulate the voice, to expand the mind, and to do it all under the auspices of critique. I aim to share in that same scrutiny - joining my students in the glorious, nitty-gritty of growing and learning.