1st Edition
Lessons from our Students Meditations on Performance Pedagogy
Lessons from our Students: Meditations on Performance Pedagogy is a collection of thirty short personal case studies about pedagogical issues that arise in theater classrooms and rehearsals.
Teaching in the acting and performance classroom is rapidly changing in the early 2020s. In the wake of the global pandemic, online education, massive trauma, and a social justice revolution, educators are seeking wisdom, clarity, and reassurance about their pedagogy. The authors speak to the current moment and the unique challenges of teaching theater by presenting a personal, practical, and authentic expression of vulnerability, humanity, and artistry as teachers. Through thirty personal meditations, the authors pose reflective questions and discussion prompts that evaluate the craft of teaching theater, issues that arise, and ideas about how to respond with vision and integrity. Accompanying exercises invite readers to reflect on their own teaching practices.
This book serves as a text for theater teachers and teachers-in-training in search of inspiration, validation, and transformation in drama education and theater pedagogy classes.
Acknowledgements
Dear Reader
Part 1: Inhalation
1. Why Theater?
2. An Ecosystem of Love
3. I Am, I Feel, I Am Bringing
4. Teacher Talking Time
5. The Jargon Finger
6. Everything but the Kitchen Sink
7. Standard Operating Procedures
8. Perennial Questions
9. To Grade or to Ungrade
10. Evaluations and Evolutions
Part 2: Exhalation
11. Prototypes
12. The Wisecracker
13. Breakdownthrough
14. Permission Slips
15. The Psychology of Apology
16. Ahimsa
17. Whole Body Yes
18. Hover and Hunker
19. Spoons
20. I Need a Champion
Part 3: Transformation
21. Whose Need Is It Anyway?
22. Lessons from my Dream Students
23. Teaching through Chaos
24. When the Teacher is Not Alright
25. Unspeakable Wounds
26. There’s Always One
27. There’s More than Meets the Ear
28. Lessons from my Recent Role as a Student
29. When Death Comes
30. Holding Space
Conclusion: Lessons from my Co-Author
Bibliography
Index
Biography
Stacey Cabaj is an Assistant Professor of Acting and Pedagogy at Loyola Marymount University. Her spirited approach to performance is grounded in her teaching certifications in Meditation, the Meisner Technique, Vibrant Voice Technique, Hatha and Vocal Yoga.
Andrea Odinov is a Voice, Speech, and Dialect Specialist, and Clinical Assistant Professor of Voice and Speech at Loyola Marymount University. She has provided coaching for theater companies and actors in the greater Los Angeles area and is a Certified Associate Instructor of Fitzmaurice Voicework®. www.andreaodinov.com
