TEACHING

I see teaching, as well as working and learning, as part of the natural ecosytem of being an artist. All are essential parts, and they all inform each other. My teaching continues to evolve as a reflection of what I learn from my students, from my work, and from my studies.

I teach Viewpoints and Suzuki as the main course of physical acting at the UW School of Drama. Viewpoints is a way of describing, understanding, and utilizing aspects of movement through time and space. Suzuki Method restores the primacy of the whole body in theatrical expression, and gives actors insight into issues of physical and vocal control.

These techniques provide not only great physical training but also a way to address acting issues with a vocabulary not derived from Stanislavski or modern psychological methods. I don’t set out to contradict these systems – my teaching is very compatible with Stanislavski’s late theories – but rather to offer different insights, angles, and tools to the students. Suzuki and Viewpoints empower the actor and provide clear structures with which the actor can practice his or her craft long after graduation. Other physical disciplines I teach include:

Composition: Like Etudes or Studies, Compositions can be building blocks towards the creation of devised work, or they can be studies that unearth or develop different aspects of any given work. Practically, Composition is writing theatrically, in time and space. Composition practice is another way to develop imagination, awareness, and commitment, and to practice physical storytelling. I also expect the students to engage their intellects in writing material, while not losing the engagement of their whole bodies while performing it.
Collaboration: Co-taught with Geoff Korf, Head of Design, this course uses elements of Composition and examines processes for working with others. It also offers a vocabulary for how to talk about the work itself, as well as the process by which it is created.
Dance: Dance training for actors – including ballet, modern, social, and contact improvisation – is a way to expand the possibilities of physical expression, to address partner-work, and to communicate through touch and weight-sharing.
Melodrama: Melodramatic Acting is good acting, but with the “gas” turned up too high. The actor must welcome the audience as another participant in the scene, and the raison d’etre for all involved is entirely Pleasure. This technique is a playful way to reinforce issues such as focus and control in heightened states.
Physical Comedy: I teach this technique as a lighthearted angle on composition work, and another way to practice storytelling with the whole body.
Greek Scenes: An application of Suzuki Training, scenes from ancient Greek Drama test the students’ physical and vocal strength and control, and full-body engagement.

In addition to teaching these specific disciplines, I use their language and practice to address acting fundamentals such as Commitment, Focus, Imagination, and Awareness. These disciplines all offer ways for the student actors to utilize more of the expressive capabilities of their bodies, as well as to practice control of what they communicate with their physical presence. The actors do get physically stronger and more agile, but it is my hope that their greatest gain will be in the clarity, force, and dimension of their expression.

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