The Illinois State University School of Theatre and Dance (SoTD) is starting a new Impact Series which will feature the different ways that SoTD students impact the education of the fine arts in primary and secondary school students in the community. The SoTD’s theatre teacher education program has grown exponentially in the past few years, expanding the number of opportunities for secondary students in the Bloomington-Normal area to be able to work with new and up-and-coming theatre professionals. SoTD students foster a love for the fine arts in the next generation while also gaining invaluable experience that will prepare them for the next steps in their careers. This article looks at how the program prepares students to work in an educational setting and explores some of the recent projects of theatre teacher education students who are preparing to enter their student teaching.
SOTD’s theatre teacher education (or THED) program allows students to work with primary and secondary school students from the start, beginning clinical hours in their very first introductory class under the guidance and supervision of the head of the program, Dr. Jimmy Chrismon. According to Chrismon, this allows THED students to determine early in the program whether teaching is the right path for them.
THED students are also encouraged to seek a second endorsement to increase their teaching prospects, and several THED students double major in a second sequence within the theatre program so that they can continue to develop their skills as an artist outside of a classroom setting. Last fall semester, most senior THED students completed their capstone projects helping to prepare them for their student teaching assignments next semester. Below are reflections from these students on their capstone projects, experiences in the program, and upcoming student teaching assignment.
While capstone projects generally consist of working with students on a series of scenes, many of the students this past fall were able to work on full shows. Markos Carmona worked as a co-director with two other THED students, Sophie Reite and Spencer Fergison, on University High School’s production of Our Town under the supervision of their cooperating teacher, Ben Webb, the head of the school’s theatre program. Each of the students directed one of the show’s three acts, giving the high schoolers the chance to work with multiple directing styles. During his rehearsals, Carmona found that affirmation was an important part of the creative process.
“A lot of times, when I would encourage the students when it came to their ideas and the things they tried they were always so shocked. It reminded me of how scared I was when I was in high school. I had no idea what I was capable of back then, so I wanted to make sure the students knew they were more capable than what they gave themselves credit for,” said Carmona.
Lorelei Wernecke was one of two students to complete their capstone projects at Thomas Metcalf School—the other being Hannah Brigham, who directed Game of Tiaras. Wernecke’s capstone consisted of directing the one-act show, Goldilocks on Trial. Her cooperating teacher was Chad Talon, head of Metcalf’s theatre department. Wernecke was also responsible for designing all of the production elements of the show, and she said that multiple design classes that she was required to take in the School of Theatre and Dance program helped prepare her to meet that challenge. Wernecke worked with about 25 middle schoolers ranging from fifth to eighth grade, allowing her to work with various experience levels. She liked being able to play games that allowed the students to exercise acting skills and sitting down with them to walk them through the process of development.
When sharing her philosophy on teaching theatre, Wernecke had this to say: “It’s about spreading a love of theatre to kids who wouldn’t get the chance otherwise, letting them know it is an option, and giving them an experience that they could look back on and say, ‘I’m proud of myself,’ or ‘I had a good time.’”
Bebe Marzano completed her capstone project at Bloomington High School where she co-directed a show with her cooperating teacher, Hannah Peradotti. She was given a selection of plays to choose to work on, and she decided on a theatre for young audiences show, Peter Pan and the Pirates. “It was kind of a full circle moment since the very first show I was ever a part of was Peter Pan,” said Marzano.
Marzano shared that previous experience in her clinical hours for another class was very challenging for her, so when it came to her capstone project, she was looking for reassurance that this was where she was supposed to be, and she found it. “They restored my faith in teaching,” Marzano said. When sharing how she approached the project she said, “I am new to this. I don’t know everything. I didn’t always have the answers, so I tried to create an environment that was open to questions and conversations so that we could figure it out together.”
Dilan Gursoy was one of three THED students—the others being Parker Daugherty and JP Lockwood—who had the unique opportunity to complete their capstone projects over the summer while working as a counselor for Illinois Shakespeare Festival’s (ISF) Youth Camps. Chrismon said that working with ISF was a relatively new development to account for the growing number of students in the THED program. Gursoy worked with middle school students on a show picked out by Chrismon, The Seussification of a Midsummer Night’s Dream. She operated as director and as all of the designers for the show. Gursoy said she was terrified going into the project, especially when it came to working with middle schoolers but that it was a great experience. According to her, her saving grace was her extensive portfolio of theatre games and activities as it helped her work with large groups of students on specific skills.
She appreciated being able to complete her capstone project over the summer as it took some of the pressure off her in THE385. She could talk about her experiences with her friends who were still working on their capstones and offer advice on what worked for her. When asked about her thoughts on her upcoming student teaching assignment, she said, “It’s one of those things that I have been trying not to think about for the past few years, and now it’s here, and I have to think about it. However, I was nervous about working with ISF, and that worked out, so I’m trying to look at it from that perspective.” Her motto throughout this process, as well as her advice for students preparing for their own capstones was, “believe in yourself and believe in what you’ve been taught here. We have been trained for this and it’s a wonderful program.”
Parker Daugherty was another one of the students to complete their capstone over the summer with ISF. However, he had been working with the youth camps since the summer before his sophomore year. He was able to work with a previous student during the camp as the assistant director for their capstone project, so being able to direct his own show with ISF felt like a full circle moment. His project consisted of a self-devised musical theatre cabaret. Because he wanted to cater the cabaret to his students’ voices, he could not fully plan out the event ahead of time. The first day consisted of having the students sing for him and doing a little coaching with them.
“We were able to pull costumes to create a fully realized Cabaret,” said Daugherty. His goal was to feature the students as much as possible. Because most of the students did not have much experience with theatre, he had them work as their own stage crew and worked with them on character development. “The students absolutely amazed me,” said Daugherty. “In order to memorize some of the concepts I taught them, they came up with the acronym B.O.O.Ts: Beets, Objectives, Obstacles, and Tactics. I am definitely using it in my teaching going forward, and it just goes to show you that we are also constantly learning from our students as well.” When asked for any advice he would give for upcoming seniors, he said, “if you remember to keep the fun in it, it will keep you going. Don’t get bogged down by perfectionism. There is a difference between trying to force something to be what you think it should be and working your hardest to make something the best it can be.”
Due to the program’s size, it was not possible to feature every THED student’s journey through their capstone projects this year. However, a common thread that seems to run through all these experiences is that each student felt anxiety leading up to their projects, but once they got rolling, the experience was rewarding. It allowed them to find validation for their chosen path as teachers, and it gave them additional experience to prepare them for their upcoming student teaching assignments and for their career that lies beyond that.
Learn more about the theatre teacher education program at the Illinois State University School of Theatre and Dance by visiting the webpage.
