Currently an Associate Professor of Theatre at Aurora University
| stacyparkerjoycewebsite.pdf |
Teaching Philosophy
“I don’t teach. I just keep repeating the same things over and over again until you decide to learn.”
– Kristin Linklater, mumbled under her breath in spring of 2004 at Columbia University
When I left my teaching job at Missouri State University in 2012, I sent the following list to all of my students as a good-bye letter. It continues to be a better illustration of my teaching philosophy than any of the more formal, intellectual manifestos I have attempted to write.
My Dear Students,
I often say "If you take ONE thing away from this class..."
Well here is a final summary of ten of those "ONE" things...
1) What is your objective? What do you want? Seriously. What. Do. You. Want. And then figure out actions and tactics to go get it. Analyze intelligently the given circumstances and then GO AFTER WHAT YOU WANT. There may be obstacles. You may not get what you want. You may discover a whole new objective after minutes, hours, days, years of pursuing the first one. But without the obstacles, without the conflict, without the triumph, without the disappointment, without the surprise, there is no play. There is no spark. The obstacles, the conflict, the triumph, the disappointment, the surprise are what make beautiful theatre. They are what make a beautiful life.
2) The theatre is full of Love, Despair, Joy, Heartbreak, Passion, and DOOM. Life is full of Love, Despair, Joy, Heartbreak, Passion, and DOOM. You can push it away or own it and make it work for you. Tears are just eye sweat. They won't kill you.
3) Turn up the volume on your soft focus. For the love of all things holy, do NOT walk around life in soft focus all the time. You will get hurt. But sometimes, every once in a while, it can be very useful to stop looking so hard. When we let things come to us rather than looking for a specific person or thing, sometimes we can discover something we needed, something inspiring, that we didn't even know was there.
4) Sometimes you need to Be the Tree- strong, grounded, solid. Sometimes you need to Hug the Tree- soft, gentle, flexible. One is not better than the other. Both are useful.
5) Leave the space better than you found it. It's easy to make a mess. It's easy to make excuses for the mess. It's easy to be too busy, too important, too distracted to notice the mess. Mess will happen. But it must be addressed. It must be acknowledged. It must be cleaned up.
6) When you observe first ask "What did I ENJOY?", then ask "What was I CONFUSED by?", finally ask "What would I LIKE TO SEE?" Just because you enjoyed it doesn't mean it's good. Just because you didn't get it doesn't mean it's bad. Just because you want to see it doesn't mean it's right. You don't need to be the solution. Just be part of the conversation.
7) All you need to make theatre is a clear beginning-middle-end, an audience and a need to share. The rest is gravy.
8) Don't be late. Ever.
9) Don't be stupid. Stupid doesn't mean foolish or silly. According to the Oxford English dictionary stupid means "lacking intelligence or common sense." Sometimes you may be in the moment and feel the impulse to do or say something that just feels good or right. And that is great, but cultivate a little tiny voice in your head that asks "Is this stupid? Will I HURT myself or others?" If the answer is yes, stop and redirect that action into something less stupid.
10) Breathe. Just Breathe.
-spj
“I don’t teach. I just keep repeating the same things over and over again until you decide to learn.”
– Kristin Linklater, mumbled under her breath in spring of 2004 at Columbia University
When I left my teaching job at Missouri State University in 2012, I sent the following list to all of my students as a good-bye letter. It continues to be a better illustration of my teaching philosophy than any of the more formal, intellectual manifestos I have attempted to write.
My Dear Students,
I often say "If you take ONE thing away from this class..."
Well here is a final summary of ten of those "ONE" things...
1) What is your objective? What do you want? Seriously. What. Do. You. Want. And then figure out actions and tactics to go get it. Analyze intelligently the given circumstances and then GO AFTER WHAT YOU WANT. There may be obstacles. You may not get what you want. You may discover a whole new objective after minutes, hours, days, years of pursuing the first one. But without the obstacles, without the conflict, without the triumph, without the disappointment, without the surprise, there is no play. There is no spark. The obstacles, the conflict, the triumph, the disappointment, the surprise are what make beautiful theatre. They are what make a beautiful life.
2) The theatre is full of Love, Despair, Joy, Heartbreak, Passion, and DOOM. Life is full of Love, Despair, Joy, Heartbreak, Passion, and DOOM. You can push it away or own it and make it work for you. Tears are just eye sweat. They won't kill you.
3) Turn up the volume on your soft focus. For the love of all things holy, do NOT walk around life in soft focus all the time. You will get hurt. But sometimes, every once in a while, it can be very useful to stop looking so hard. When we let things come to us rather than looking for a specific person or thing, sometimes we can discover something we needed, something inspiring, that we didn't even know was there.
4) Sometimes you need to Be the Tree- strong, grounded, solid. Sometimes you need to Hug the Tree- soft, gentle, flexible. One is not better than the other. Both are useful.
5) Leave the space better than you found it. It's easy to make a mess. It's easy to make excuses for the mess. It's easy to be too busy, too important, too distracted to notice the mess. Mess will happen. But it must be addressed. It must be acknowledged. It must be cleaned up.
6) When you observe first ask "What did I ENJOY?", then ask "What was I CONFUSED by?", finally ask "What would I LIKE TO SEE?" Just because you enjoyed it doesn't mean it's good. Just because you didn't get it doesn't mean it's bad. Just because you want to see it doesn't mean it's right. You don't need to be the solution. Just be part of the conversation.
7) All you need to make theatre is a clear beginning-middle-end, an audience and a need to share. The rest is gravy.
8) Don't be late. Ever.
9) Don't be stupid. Stupid doesn't mean foolish or silly. According to the Oxford English dictionary stupid means "lacking intelligence or common sense." Sometimes you may be in the moment and feel the impulse to do or say something that just feels good or right. And that is great, but cultivate a little tiny voice in your head that asks "Is this stupid? Will I HURT myself or others?" If the answer is yes, stop and redirect that action into something less stupid.
10) Breathe. Just Breathe.
-spj
