MFA Theatre Education - First Month

It is already a little over one month into this semester and I have already learned so much! All of my classes have provided a challenge to me in some aspect as well as an opportunity to look at my teaching and creative work through a new lens. While I felt like a lot of content was “review” because I had experience with it before or had even learned it on my own, I started to really see the power of taking what I know and giving it structure through the process of lesson planning, reflecting, and tying it back to learning outcomes.

Acting and Directing: I have been working through The Sanford Meisner Approach Workbook One and Workbook Two: Emotional Freedom as well as Stanislavsky: The System by Sonia Moore. Going back through these acting and directing techniques reminded me why I fell in love with it in the first place. The Meisner workbooks specifically really made me look at listening, repetition and emotional truth in a whole new light. I also appreciated that these readings have really pushed me to slow down and think about how to break it down and teach it to students step by step. Writing a lesson plan and my first SLOs that are based on these acting techniques made me more intentional about what I wanted students to gain from each exercise.

Creative Dramatics: I have loved this class so much! It has been and interest class providing lots of inspiration. I realized how impactful storytelling, play, and imagination can be for younger learners. The class is helping me to learn how to craft lessons that not only help students learn but build confidence and help students discover joy in the creative process as well.

Production and Design: In the first unit of study, the class focused on scenic design reviewing drafting exercises and how to create a designer’s concept statement. The unit finished by creating a lesson plan from one area of study and a SLO for a college level semester of the entire class. I learned some helpful lessons and will be able to utilize those in the future in my technical theatre classes. We are now moving on to costuming, which I find very interesting. I am excited to explore how clothing choices can add to a character and the storytelling.

This first month of classes has provided me with so much clarity and direction. I have learned how to find a balance between creativity and structure, and how to turn instinct into purposeful teaching. I feel like I am already starting to grow and I am so excited to continue the program!