On Teaching Difficult Material

Theatre is a collaborative art. In this week’s episode, host Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder talks with Padraic Lillis, artistic director of the Farm Theatre and Jennifer Goff, professor at Centre College, about the collaborative process. Drawing from their experience developing a new play through the Farm Theatre project, Padraic and Jennifer discuss the ways in which collaboration helps students learn to think critically, communicate effectively, take risks, and analyze text.

Dramaturgs serve productions in a variety of ways, which are often dictated by needs of the play and the playwright. Playwright and dramaturg Jacqueline Goldfinger, along with dramaturg and dean of the Theatre School at DePaul University Martine Kei Green-Rogers, join the conversation to discuss the role of the dramaturg in new play development, as well as how to incorporate dramaturgy in the classroom.

As conversations about the diversity and decolonization of syllabi continue, many theatre programs reconsider the texts they teach. In this episode, host Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder talks with Nathan Alan Davis from Boston University and Yizhou Huang from St. Louis University about reinventing the canon. They question who controls the narrative, discuss what qualifies as canon, and offer up some suggestions for course redesign.

More and more theatre departments are incorporating devising into their training. This highly collaborative process allows students to generate their own work, giving them ownership of the final product. Theatre professors Andy Paris (North Carolina School of the Arts) and Emily K. Harrison (Hamilton College) discuss their process, how they engage students, and the benefits of allowing students agency in the creation of their own work.

As universities put more emphasis on collaboration, inclusion, and student buy-in, theatre departments address these issues in their season planning and casting. In this episode, Dr. Colleen Rua, interim associate director and assistant professor of theatre, dives deep into the practices that the School of Theatre and Dance the University of Florida has put in place in order to create a more equitable planning and casting process.

Whether in rehearsal or in the classroom, theatre educators are often confronted with uncomfortable conversations. In this episode of Teaching Theatre, Megan Gogerty (University of Iowa) and Darren Canady (University of Kansas) discuss how they tackle challenging material in their classrooms, reframing the idea of what is “difficult,” getting to the root of discomfort, creating classroom agreements.

Guests Jennifer Blackmer (Ball State University) and Marcus Lane (University of Montevallo) join host Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder for a deep dive into how theatre professors can help our students find a healthy, productive work-life balance.

Host Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder talks with Valerie Curtis-Newton (University of Washington) and Cynthia Henderson (Ithaca College) about the changes and challenges university theatre training programs are facing in this moment, as well as some strategies to address these issues. This premiere episode touches on many of the topics we will discuss throughout the season: work ethic, teaching difficult material, and reinventing the canon, and more.