I am a theatre generalist who directs, performs, teaches, and writes for and about theatre.
My interest in acting opened the door to a life-long pursuit of theatre practice and study. I am a member of the Screen Actors Guild and eligible for membership in Actors Equity. Stanislavski technique, augmented by Practical Aesthetics and elements of Meisner technique, form the core of my approach to acting instruction.
My training as a director evolved alongside with my training in playwriting and new play dramaturgy at the University of Texas-Austin, and consequently was influenced by both. I have served as a new play dramaturg and director for the Texas Young Playwrights Festival, Kennedy Center-American College Theatre Festival, Missouri History in Performance (MoHIP), and Mizzou New Play Series.
In addition to teaching and directing at Mizzou, I was the assistant producer for the University of Missouri Interactive Theatre Troupe (Mizzou ITT). Mizzou ITT uses Augusto Boal’s Forum Theatre techniques to stimulate conversation around difficult topics within communities. As assistant producer I was responsible for the training of new troupe members and served as the troupe’s primary director and facilitator. My works as a facilitator for Mizzou ITT complements my training as a University of Missouri Difficult Dialogue Faculty Fellow in ways of opening dialogue across cultures and promoting inclusiveness in the classroom.
My scholarship extends my interest in the social function of theatre and examines how African-American practitioners use their craft in response to hegemonic presentations of African-American identity and experience. Study in the African Diaspora provides theory and historical context for the lives and work of these practitioners and was also integral to my dissertation, Preparing Birds to Fly: Lloyd Richards and the Actor.
In 2011 I organized a three-day Artist in Residence visit by the Tony nominated actor Stephen Henderson. The program was funded through the University of Missouri Chancellor’s Distinguished Visitors Program and comprised of a two-day workshop with students in the theatre department and various class visits. As the residency’s culminating event, I moderated a public forum where Henderson discussed significant events in his life and career.
I hold an MFA in playwriting from the University of Texas-Austin, an MA in English with a concentration African Diaspora Studies from the University of Missouri, and Secondary Education Teaching Credentials from California State University Los Angeles. I earned my Ph.D. in theatre with a Minor in College Teaching at the University of Missouri in 2013 and previously taught acting, directing, and playwriting as the Heanon Wilkins Fellow in theatre at Miami University, in Oxford, Ohio. I currently teach acting, directing, playwriting, script analysis and African-American theatre history at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida.
My interest in acting opened the door to a life-long pursuit of theatre practice and study. I am a member of the Screen Actors Guild and eligible for membership in Actors Equity. Stanislavski technique, augmented by Practical Aesthetics and elements of Meisner technique, form the core of my approach to acting instruction.
My training as a director evolved alongside with my training in playwriting and new play dramaturgy at the University of Texas-Austin, and consequently was influenced by both. I have served as a new play dramaturg and director for the Texas Young Playwrights Festival, Kennedy Center-American College Theatre Festival, Missouri History in Performance (MoHIP), and Mizzou New Play Series.
In addition to teaching and directing at Mizzou, I was the assistant producer for the University of Missouri Interactive Theatre Troupe (Mizzou ITT). Mizzou ITT uses Augusto Boal’s Forum Theatre techniques to stimulate conversation around difficult topics within communities. As assistant producer I was responsible for the training of new troupe members and served as the troupe’s primary director and facilitator. My works as a facilitator for Mizzou ITT complements my training as a University of Missouri Difficult Dialogue Faculty Fellow in ways of opening dialogue across cultures and promoting inclusiveness in the classroom.
My scholarship extends my interest in the social function of theatre and examines how African-American practitioners use their craft in response to hegemonic presentations of African-American identity and experience. Study in the African Diaspora provides theory and historical context for the lives and work of these practitioners and was also integral to my dissertation, Preparing Birds to Fly: Lloyd Richards and the Actor.
In 2011 I organized a three-day Artist in Residence visit by the Tony nominated actor Stephen Henderson. The program was funded through the University of Missouri Chancellor’s Distinguished Visitors Program and comprised of a two-day workshop with students in the theatre department and various class visits. As the residency’s culminating event, I moderated a public forum where Henderson discussed significant events in his life and career.
I hold an MFA in playwriting from the University of Texas-Austin, an MA in English with a concentration African Diaspora Studies from the University of Missouri, and Secondary Education Teaching Credentials from California State University Los Angeles. I earned my Ph.D. in theatre with a Minor in College Teaching at the University of Missouri in 2013 and previously taught acting, directing, and playwriting as the Heanon Wilkins Fellow in theatre at Miami University, in Oxford, Ohio. I currently teach acting, directing, playwriting, script analysis and African-American theatre history at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida.