ACADEMIC Experience
My first priority is to get students on their feet, applying principals. With 17 years as a working New York City actor and experience at three different Universities,
the concepts I teach have been tested and refined through practice. I have demonstrated success at an array of material, but my specialties are Audition Techniques, Shakespeare, and Stage Combat.
SUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS
Innovative Director: Demonstrated success creating groundbreaking theatre including immersive and devised theatre; also skilled in stage combat and choreography.
Professional Roots: Seventeen years of professional New York acting experience on stage, film, and television.
Embrace of Diversity: Experience teaching at three universities with varied expectations and diverse student bodies including Latinx students and students of color.
Collaborative Contributor: Strong service background including recruiting, curriculum reform, season selection, and more.
Dynamic Instructor: Proven track record guiding students from diverse backgrounds to success; specialties include Basic and Advanced Directing, Shakespeare, and Audition Technique.
Fall 2016 - Present
Assistant Professor of Acting
University of Texas at El Paso
This is my current position and my first tenure track posting. After demonstrating success as a visiting professor, UTEP offered me a Tenure seeking assistant professorship. I am currently in my third year. Consistent with the university’s access mission, many UTEP students come from underserved populations. Most are Latinx, and some make the daily commute across the bridge from Juarez to study with us. I am very proud to work with this demographic and to guide them toward excellence. Many of my students are now in top tier graduate schools around the country.
2015-2016
Visiting Professor of Acting
University of Texas at El Paso
I accepted this position with an open mind but some hesitancy around relocating from New York City to El Paso, Texas. To my surprise, I have loved living here. The border culture is stimulating; the people are welcoming; and the students are good humored and eager to learn. .
Fall 2013 - Spring 2014
Visiting Professor of Acting
Fall 2009 - Fall 2014
Miami University, Oxford Ohio
My first fulltime academic posting, I took a year away from my New York career to accept an assignment as the primary acting instructor for Miami’s theatre department teaching both graduate and undergraduate students. I also worked for that year as the department’s production vocal coach.
Adjunct Theatre Professor
Nassau Community Theatre
My first formal teaching experience, I started as a substitute and quickly became one of NCC’s regular adjunct acting professors. This was a fantastic opportunity as I was able to teach while still working professional gigs in and around New York. The department chair, Victor Abravaya is still an invaluable mentor to me.
NCC serves a wide array of Long Island populations. Often from underserved or economically disadvantaged backgrounds, teaching the diverse students of NCC was a profound learning opportunity.