Over the past 10 years of being an adjunct lecturer for the Hunter College Theatre Department, I have been fortunate to teach three very different courses at the school: Intro to Theatre, Acting 1: Basic Techniques, and Acting 2: American Realism. While my deepest heart connection belongs to my work as an acting teacher, being able to design and run an engaging and thorough introductory course on the full scope of theatrical practice and history is a right of passage for any theatre professor worth their salt. I’ve learned that I actually really love exposing students, who have probably never had any meaningful previous experience with live performance, particularly STEM and Education majors, to this magical space. It’s a space that somehow always holds up the exact mirror we collectively require at any given historical moment and dares, cajoles, demands, seduces us to peer into it. But that magic also comes with a very real price to those who work with it, and I endeavor to balance my enthusiasm for the art form with an acknowledgement of where it has traditionally fallen short, or even caused damage.. It’s a tricky balancing act, but I am deeply grateful for all of the hours I spent preparing and teaching these classes, and for the many truly extraordinary students I have had the great privilege to teach.

But I want to focus on teaching acting here because I honestly think it’s one of the most difficult and challenging subjects to engage with, particularly in an academic setting. In higher education, unlike with private studios, there is often a mandated requirement that your class, in addition to the individual acting exercises, group work, improv, and monologue/scene study, must also include a substantive amount of written assignments. Figuring out a way to make this writing salient to the process of acting training was an ongoing creative challenge, but one I truly relished. One realization I had was that the writing assignments were most successful when they primarily served as an extension of and support mechanism for the creative process.

I believe in cultivating a safe space in my classroom where people are able to try things that might not work out to the best of their expectations—and not only is that okay, it’s an acknowledged part of the process. I want actors to feel empowered to find material that resonates for them, rather than depending on a teacher to assign them something. I strive to give equal attention to all of my students—from seasoned pros to newbies just trying it out for fun. I believe in compassionate critique as the best way to help artists evolve. I truly believe that everyone has something to gain from acting training, even if they have no intention of pursuing acting as a career.

I am going to be starting an independent scene study/monologue class in the very near future. If you might be interested in dropping by at some point for a coaching session, please add your name to my email list.