Educator

Theater in higher education

Most recently I’ve taught at Clackamas Community College and Portland State University. I was at Mt. Hood Community College for three years, was Visiting Professor for the Bachelor of Fine Arts program at Western Oregon University, and have taught at Portland Community College and University of Portland. 

I have been a guest director/choreographer for several universities and colleges in the region, including (in addition to the above institutions), Willamette University, Pacific University, and Lewis & Clark College.

I have initiated new works, devised and student written projects in university settings. Whether it’s a collaboration with the ASL program or a student-written play about the 2020 Riverside fires, I lead groups to and through challenging and worthwhile experiences.

Community engaged teaching

Teaching for community-based education programs like Phame Academy, the Kaiser Intergenerational Queer Theater Project, and Dance for Parkinsons’ have been some of my favorite experiences as an educator. I also served as director of a Portland Public Schools summer camp serving 1,200 kids on three sites for eight weeks.

For eight years I taught at the California State Summer School for the Arts, serving high school students in a month-long residential camp setting with a conservatory-style approach and college credit-eligible classwork.

Inclusion is essential

As a queer, female artist-educator, it is my mission to create liberatory spaces for students where we can embody our most urgent work. Equitable theater practice gives me, my teams and my audiences a wider view of the world. 

I am passionate about re-envisioning the professional actor training landscape that I encountered as an acting student many years ago, and creating accessible, experiential arts education for a new generation.

Self-authorship is the heart of my teaching.