"The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves."
—Carl Jung |
Teaching Philosophy
I believe we should be graduating passionate, aware, and intelligent acting students who feel empowered to think critically and who are confident in their creativity. The example I set in the studio, my respect for the craft of acting, my disciplined approach, and my experience using a wide range of skills and methodologies makes me an effective teacher of theater. My passion for my art and my deeply held belief that we have a responsibility as theater artists to pass our knowledge on to the next generation is the foundation from which I work.
My philosophy of teaching is threefold: First, I offer a safe and nurturing environment where risk-taking and collaboration are encouraged. Second, I believe it’s important to provide students a core set of fundamentals as well as exposure to approaches from a wide range of theories that have been passed down through the ages. Third, I try to instill in my students a reverence for the craft of acting and the discipline necessary to succeed in the field. |
Creativity can only happen in an environment that is nurturing and playful. In my classes, humor is encouraged and every choice is validated. Saying "yes" to every idea will eventually yield the best idea—the one that feeds the actor and will astonish/move/elate an audience.
I provide students with the fundamentals they need to build from. Drawing from approaches that range from the internal and psychological methods of Stanislavski, Uta Hagen, Michael Chekhov, and Bill Ball, to the exterior and physical work of Laban and Grotowski, my students learn how to research plays, analyze texts, and develop detailed character biographies for use in multi-disciplined performing arts. They learn how to incorporate the social, political, economic, and religious aspects of character development. I engage them in exercises that allow them to communicate truthfully, listen empathically, observe closely, and personalize the experience of each character. I encourage the use of physical approaches to character development including psychological gesture and animal imagery. Then, in my classes, rehearsals, and performances, I empower actors to choose from these tools in order to discover the most powerful choices.
I believe in a rigorous approach to training with a strong emphasis on the mastery of skills. I instill in my students a strong standard of ethics and sense of personal responsibility to the artistic traditions that have come before them. I encourage my students to recognize the importance of the arts and to be fiercely committed to maintaining them as a vibrant part of a functioning society.
For the past thirty years, I have chosen to make my career in San Francisco—one of this country’s most diverse cities—a place of openness, creativity, and tolerance. I believe that the continued health and wellbeing of a society depends on exposure to a wide variety of backgrounds, beliefs, and perspectives. And my experience working in the Bay Area arts community has deepened my commitment to diversity and equity. Art is a language that speaks to us all; art helps us build bridges between people and between cultures. I have been extremely lucky to have worked with professional artists from a wide range of racial and ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, gender identities, and those who are differently-abled. My life and my work are richer for it. Diversity in the arts is essential because it is the fodder by which we as individual artists grow. I bring this perspective to my work and hope in a small way to provide the kind of leadership that will lay the groundwork for a more integrated and tolerant American theater.
I am a dedicated theater professional with a passion for teaching that allows me to motivate a class and get everyone pulling in the same direction. My classes give students self-confidence and valuable skills for whatever path they take in life. I strive to provide an outlet for creativity, a chance to be inspired, tickled, thrilled, moved; a place for healthy dialogue about the world we live in. When someone comes in contact with one of my students, I hope that they recognize their passion and commitment, their creativity, their forward thinking, and that they are inspired to join them in their endeavors.
I provide students with the fundamentals they need to build from. Drawing from approaches that range from the internal and psychological methods of Stanislavski, Uta Hagen, Michael Chekhov, and Bill Ball, to the exterior and physical work of Laban and Grotowski, my students learn how to research plays, analyze texts, and develop detailed character biographies for use in multi-disciplined performing arts. They learn how to incorporate the social, political, economic, and religious aspects of character development. I engage them in exercises that allow them to communicate truthfully, listen empathically, observe closely, and personalize the experience of each character. I encourage the use of physical approaches to character development including psychological gesture and animal imagery. Then, in my classes, rehearsals, and performances, I empower actors to choose from these tools in order to discover the most powerful choices.
I believe in a rigorous approach to training with a strong emphasis on the mastery of skills. I instill in my students a strong standard of ethics and sense of personal responsibility to the artistic traditions that have come before them. I encourage my students to recognize the importance of the arts and to be fiercely committed to maintaining them as a vibrant part of a functioning society.
For the past thirty years, I have chosen to make my career in San Francisco—one of this country’s most diverse cities—a place of openness, creativity, and tolerance. I believe that the continued health and wellbeing of a society depends on exposure to a wide variety of backgrounds, beliefs, and perspectives. And my experience working in the Bay Area arts community has deepened my commitment to diversity and equity. Art is a language that speaks to us all; art helps us build bridges between people and between cultures. I have been extremely lucky to have worked with professional artists from a wide range of racial and ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, gender identities, and those who are differently-abled. My life and my work are richer for it. Diversity in the arts is essential because it is the fodder by which we as individual artists grow. I bring this perspective to my work and hope in a small way to provide the kind of leadership that will lay the groundwork for a more integrated and tolerant American theater.
I am a dedicated theater professional with a passion for teaching that allows me to motivate a class and get everyone pulling in the same direction. My classes give students self-confidence and valuable skills for whatever path they take in life. I strive to provide an outlet for creativity, a chance to be inspired, tickled, thrilled, moved; a place for healthy dialogue about the world we live in. When someone comes in contact with one of my students, I hope that they recognize their passion and commitment, their creativity, their forward thinking, and that they are inspired to join them in their endeavors.
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