Tag Archive | Education
Breaking the Echo Chamber
In a liberal arts bubble, it sometimes feels like an echo chamber. I am confident about values, I understand my moral compass. I try my best not to hate, to judge, to hurt someone intentionally. So should I be afraid to play a character that does not share my own values? I have been asking […]
Topdog/Underdog Audience Response
It’s a Wednesday matinee of Topdog/Underdog by Suzan Lori-Parks at the Huntington theatre. A play about two black men in American society, struggling with many systems (societal, economical, fate) that have been rigged against them. The story has Greek elements of fate written into it, what with the characters being named Lincoln and Booth, it is […]
Thug
Oh man. Yesterday, I posted this picture on the internet: Taken by my incredible Boston-based photog friend Lena Mirisola, CHECK. HER. OUT. Aaaanyway A little while after posting, I received a notification that a frequent guest director at my high school, & a theatre […]
Those Who Can Teach, Do.
It happened again. Yesterday, I was told by an educator, that I must be an educator. The first time it ever happened. I was sitting in my high school theatre teacher’s office, and he began a sentence, “When you become a teacher someday – and Emily, you will be a teacher someday …” Of course, the age-old condemnation […]
“It feels like it happened…”
Suzan-Lori Parks is awesome. Well, duh. I mean, have you seen her hair? But in all seriousness, if you’re not already familiar with this brilliant, clever, down to earth playwright, you should be. Yesterday, I went with three other women in my Contemporary Drama class at BU to see Father Comes Home from the Wars […]
One Does Not Simply F*** with the Dramatists Guild: Champions for the Little Guys
If you haven’t yet heard about the heated conflict brewing between the Dramatists Guild of America and the South Williamsport Junior Senior High School of Pennsylvania, please, drop whatever you’re doing (including reading this blog post), and read THIS. THE ESSENCE OF THE PROBLEM: A high school cancels a production of Spamalot due to fear […]
The Power of Art in a Naiton
There once was a city called Medellin tucked away in the mountains of northwest Colombia. It was once home to the cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar, and with the cartels came crime and violence. In 1991, it was the murder capital of the world. The Colombian government intervened to help alleviate this horrific state, but not […]
Queen Victoria Taught me to Teach
I am currently in a class called CT575, General Teaching Methods. It is a standard education class where we learn the basics of lesson plan creation and classroom management. The last few classes, however, haven’t really looked like education classes though. They have looked something a lot closer to a mediocre acting class. While we […]
A Solution (maybe) for Non-Profits: A Sense of Place
A sense of place—this is an idea Carlos Uriona of Double Edge Theatre talked about recently in a Tedx Talk. I think this is particularly important for artists. In his talk, Carlos tells of his journey from Argentina all the way to Ashfield, MA, USA to Double Edge Theatre. Carlos was an artist and theatre […]
PUT YOUR HAND DOWN WHEN SOMEONE ELSE IS TALKING: A STUDENT MANIFESTO
When asked the question “what do you want to do with your degree in theatre?” I always respond with the same sentiment: I just want to talk to people for the rest of my life. People often give a thoughtful nod and a contemplative humph, which allows me to elaborate: communication is essential to theatre […]
Teaching with a Dramaturgical Eye
I read a really compelling post today about one of the American education system’s biggest, most glaring flaws. Incidentally, I found it because it was posted to Facebook by one of my favorite high school teachers (who has since moved from my high school to teach at the local Montessori middle school). He was an […]
They need it more than we do.
Hey fellow theatre students: Why do we spend so much time and effort into making theatre that nobody will see? At least, nobody other than our classmates, fellow artists, who always see it… How do we engage with new audiences? Ones whose first impulse would not be to spend their Friday night going to the […]
This One’s for the Kids
This weekend, I had the pleasure of seeing three of my peers in Phil Berman’s new play Three Blessed Brothers. Now, compared to other plays done at Boston University, I’ll be honest– this one was an oddball. Not only was it a comedy (an unheard of type of production here in the school of theatre), […]
Checking My Privilege Does Not Mean Silence
This past summer I did an internship for social change in Hartford CT with the Hartbeat Ensemble. It was one of the most educational experiences I have ever had because for the first time, probably ever, I was one of the only white people in the room. Growing up in a very rural town in […]
Educate Me: How (not) to Read a Play in Your English Class
I have a question. It might actually be a question I have had for a very long time but haven’t been able to ask it. Or else, I haven’t been able to figure out of whom I should ask this question. I still don’t think I’ve gotten it right, but please, bear with me. Why […]
Drama Lit Blog 2.0: BU School of Theatre 