Teaching and Directing

Teaching Philosophy

I love what I do. I feel incredibly fortunate to have carved a path for myself in the theatre, and I strive to both inspire my students and give them the tools to do the same. First and foremost, my job is to spark joyful creative curiosity and create a safe space for students to find and exercise their voices. To me that means a number of things, but begins with the most basic tenets of trust, listening, and ensemble. My class or rehearsal room is a place to play—to take risks, to be challenged, and to learn to empathize with others. In my own work as an actor, the one constant is empathy; it doesn’t matter what the play or genre is, who the character is, or whether I’m working in a theatre that seats 500 or a lab that seats 20, without empathy and a real desire to tell a story, my work isn’t worth much of anything. The culture of the classroom in theatre, more than any other discipline I can think of, is almost entirely responsible for the success or failure of the work and of the students. My ultimate goal is for my room to be a place that cultivates a culture of doing rather than telling, showing rather than explaining, and practicing active kindness and whole-body listening— whether one is up on stage or supporting the work as an audience member. I demand hard work and utter generosity of spirit, and hope to nurture creativity and talent while giving my students real, concrete experiences they can build upon. I strive to help my students bring their best selves into the room day in and day out, whatever the skills being explored. My deepest wish for my students is that they are able to carry forward the lessons of empathy, hard work, accountability, generosity and out-of-the-box thinking, in whichever direction life takes them.

Over the past several years, I've worked as an educator in a variety of settings.

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