Candidate for
Associate Professor of Acting
Service.
Production Committee
As a member of the UNT Dance and Theatre Department Production Committee, my responsibilities include:
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planning and then recommending a season of public productions for the Department of Dance and Theatre
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meeting regularly and operating in open sessions to allow full faculty participation
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accepting, reviewing, and approving proposals for faculty and student directed productions
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creation of a final calendar (auditions, rehearsal, tech, and run of show) for season productions
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collaboration with all elements of production (set, costumes, lights, sound, props, box office) in the process
Curriculog
Curriculog is an electronic tool which faculty members who are designing, changing, or removing courses and programs can use to process approvals in a virtual environment. In order to submit information into the Curriculog system, a user must receive permission from the Office of the Registrar personnel assigned to oversee the Curriculog System. Each college, school, department, and division has the freedom to permit or restrict access to Curriculog.
In my position as the faculty member in the Department of Dance and Theatre who has been authorized to use the system (in collaboration with the Acting Faculty), a number of critical changes have been made to the Acting curriculum, including:
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Update of all acting class Course Description and Outcomes
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Amendment of the Acting Concentration core and curricular schema
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Revision of all Acting class prerequisites
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Addition of 4 new courses to the Upper Division acting curriculum:
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THEA 3700 AUDITION FOR THE STAGE (proposed and created by me)
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THEA 4050 ACTING: REALISM II (proposed and created by me)
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THEA 4051 THE ART AND CRAFT OF VOICE-OVER
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THEA 4700 THE BUSINESS OF ACTING (Acting Concentration capstone course)
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Acting Concentration Assessment
The service of which I am most proud during my tenure track at UNT involves the task of oversight of the THEA 3050 ACTING: REALISM I course, a pivotal class in the performance degree, for consistency in academic content and instructor methodology. I meet with the course professors several times during the semester and conduct verbal peer reviews with them to make this course as effective as possible for our students by encouraging these Adjuncts to feel like they are an integral part of a team whose feedback and reflection are vital, with an end goal of greater consistency, cohesion, and academic excellence. The pandemic period also allowed for Guest Artists to visit the Realism course from remote locations, and I was able to facilitate appearances by Emmy nominee Allison Tolman (Fargo) and Tony nominee Jenn Colella (Come from Away) in the class.
My work in this position also led to a stricter standard of excellence for students in the Acting Concentration. In order to enroll in THEA 3050, students must have earned a grade of B or better in the three prerequisite courses. The Acting Faculty was thus faced with the task of assessing students who had earned a C in any of the prerequisite classes, in order to ascertain that the Concentration was indeed the best fit for them. In collaboration with the Acting Faculty and Department Chair, I established and oversaw the process of a jury audition wherein basic skills could be assessed and a decision made regarding the retention of that student in the Acting Concentration (or the decision to guide them to another option within the Theatre Major).
What I am most satisfied with about this screening process is what it has been able to reveal to our young actors. For some, the audition requirement has made them keenly aware that being in the Acting Concentration is earned on merit and requires strong attention to skills and work ethic, motivating them to “up their game.” For others, it has shown them that they may be better career-ready by focusing their efforts in a different arena of the theatre.
Auditions Coordinator
At the request of the Chair, I have served for the last three years in the newly-created positions of Auditions Coordinator for UNT productions.
Duties involve:
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a complete oversight of the process from collaboration with directors to set up the process
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actor sign-up and preparation
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oversight of the auditions themselves (including guidance of a student Audition Team to run the proceedings)
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callbacks
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follow-up of the casting process.
I was charged by the Chair to make the UNT audition process reflect that which our young actors will encounter in a professional scenario, improve audition skills, and increase participation numbers, particularly among newer students who may have been intimidated by the process in the past. I am extremely pleased with the consistency of the results. Our turnout has doubled from what it was before we created the position; directors are very pleased with the efficiency of the process; and students are much more prepared and empowered to deliver effective auditions.
Virtual Town Hall Meetings
Given the uncertainty and challenge of coming back to UNT mid-pandemic, I was charged by the Department Chair to create two town hall meetings for Theatre Majors (July and August 2020) to give students information about procedures, outline safety precautions, respond to questions, and give students a much-needed chance to vent. Both town hall meetings , I believe, went smoothly and were effective in easing students’ concerns about their safety on campus and assuring them that the department very much had a plan in place to maintain academic excellence in the midst of trying times.
Faculty Search Committees
In the Spring of 2020, a Dance and Theatre Search Committee (for a Lecturer hire for the Acting Faculty) went into full swing. Multiple candidates were interviewed and finalists selected. Two of these actually came to campus for teaching demonstrations. I served as the point person for video recording of all remote interaction with the candidates. Unfortunately, the emergence of the pandemic terminated what I believe would have been a successful search. Regardless, I am proud of my contribution to the process and anticipate that I will be able to use what I have learned in future searches for Dance and Theatre and possibly even other departments at UNT.
In Spring of 2023, Search Committees for Lecturers in both costume and scenic design for the Department of Dance and Theatre were undertaken. Duties for members of those committees included pre-screening, in person interviews, and observation of candidate presentations. Both of these searches were completed successfully and resulted in the addition of two wonderful new colleagues for the Department of Dance and Theatre.
In the Summer 0f 2024, I also served, at the request of the new incoming Chair, on the Search Committee for the Administrative Specialist position for the Department of Dance and Theatre.
Actor Coaching:
Showcase of Undergraduate Theatre Artists
Held annually each spring at Moody Performance Hall in Dallas, this event offers a wonderful opportunity for UNT actors and designers to connect with area theaters, agents, and production houses - all in one place! Design displays fill the lobby while, inside the theatre, actors present both acting and singing auditions. Faculty members facilitate the event, and, in the case of the Acting Faculty, provide hands-on coaching in preparation for the event.
Public Service
In the DFW community, I offered service for over a decade to the non-profit organization called The Salesmanship Club of Dallas, sponsors of an elementary school for at-risk kids called The Momentous Institute. It was a pleasure to serve as director and choreographer for an end-of-the-year performance event in assistance to this wonderful organization and what they do for these kids.
I have also served for the past decade as Board President (and co-founder) of DFW Actors Give Back, a 501c3 non-profit organization focused on channeling the service efforts of DFW artists (who, by nature, are generous, sensitive individuals) into projects that benefit children’s charities.
Finally, in the DFW community, I was thrilled to offer my services as an actor to three very worthy organizations: the American Heart Association, the Rosemont Dual Language Academy, and the Dallas Children’s Theater. My work for AHA involved performing in a music video for an annual fundraiser, and service to Rosemont and DCT involved the creation of videos spoofing classic Broadway songs for use in children’s theatre remote learning environments.
Headshots for Acting Concentration Majors
One of the most useful benefits extended to UNT students who complete their theatre degree with a Concentration in Acting is a headshot session provided by a leading photographer in the DFW market, Jordan Fraker. Every semester, students enrolled in the capstone course for the concentration, THEA 4700 THE BUSINESS OF ACTING, are offered this opportunity, with the process of consultation and preparation for the session overseen by a member of the Acting Faculty (a task the Chair assigned to me). The final results of our photo sessions are absolutely stunning, providing our graduates with images that will absolutely make them competitive in the professional marketplace. They are always thrilled with and empowered by the results, as shown here.
