Pablo Guerra-Monje
SCENIC DESIGN AND EDUCATION
SCENIC DESIGN AND EDUCATION
Pablo Guerra-Monje is from Madrid, Spain, where he started his theatre design career before moving to the United States. He worked at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque and the Santa Fe Opera before joining the University of Arkansas Fort Smith, where he achieved full professorship. The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival has awarded Guerra-Monje state, regional, and national awards. He presented his work at the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space and the World Stage Design exhibit in Taipei. In addition, the Association of Theatre in Higher Education and the Kennedy Center American Theatre College Festival, Region # VI, awarded Guerra-Monje the Prize for Innovative Teaching.
Pablo Guerra-Monje MA, MFA
TEACHING PHILOSOPHY - ARTIST STATEMENT
The art I practice is producing and teaching theatre at the university level. I have spent most of my life in education, between studying and teaching, and it is where I thrive. I decided to pursue my art at a US University because of its opportunities for hands-on learning and real-world application, as well as its technical proficiency and Innovation. I went from sculpture to installation and then to theatre, from volume to space, and then to time-space creation. Through this process, I discovered the power of collaboration and the joy of working with other theatre artists, educators, and students. I became fascinated by the possibilities of theatre shaping the future of its students and practitioners. I encourage my students to develop their artistic identity and take risks. I offer a unique blend of compassion, energy, and expertise that fosters the expression of ideas in a carefully curated and technically supported environment, with rigor, integrity, and kindness.
As a designer and educator, my art is divided between the stage and the classroom. I explore the theatre's brutal resilience and strength, its immediacy, its complex simplicity, and its simultaneous connection to both the intellectual and the sacred. I believe that theatre will play a significantly more important role in restoring the human interaction we lose daily in the digital era. As a scholar and conceptual thinker, my primary interest lies in the potential of theatre as a tool for connection and social construction, extending beyond academia.
A comprehensive understanding of theatrical creation from every angle of production, along with the implications of communication and documentation at each step of the collaborative process, enables me to enjoy the art of theatre thoroughly. I consider myself and my students to be strong assets in creating memorable theatre.
STATEMENT ON INCLUSION
Promoting inclusion is the best practice in both academic and professional settings.
I understand inclusion as biodiversity, a sign of healthy ecosystems.
My experience with inclusion and diversity is rich and diverse, spanning a range of roles, from being a seeker to formal training, teaching in Fort Smith, which has tremendous diversity as a historic refugee entry point from several wars, etc., and being an immigrant in the US and an active member of the Hispanic community.
I seek to utilize my nineteen years of experience as an educator to design, coordinate, assess, and engage the learning community in educational and experiential initiatives that enhance cultural representation and foster artistic appreciation.
- WORKSHARE -
ARTIST LEADERSHIP FELLOW - MID AMERICA ARTS ALLIANCE:
(Lysistrata by *Aristophanes, and I thought only sound was recorded 😄)