Theatre Design is the opportunity to reflect upon life events in a three-dimensional way. It provides the ability to state a triumph or a trauma with a simple aesthetic choice. Theatre Design is the avenue through which we make our darkest fears, deepest desires, and most frivolous thoughts visible with just the elements provided to us. This, to me, is the basic principle of teaching creativity- melding pedagogy with practice: provide the space to create unabashedly, foster the ability to communicate effectively and efficiently with the collaborative team, focus on combining study of one area of design with another, and to bring to life the wild images and fancies students have when analyzing a script while also telling the story that is the epicenter of the design.

As a theatre practitioner, educator, and creator I am dedicated to creating a safe space in which all students, regardless of race, physical ability, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity, can create unabashedly. Maintaining academic integrity of an intersectional and inclusive space is imperative to fostering a safe learning environment for students that nurtures growth throughout their college career.

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When teaching each of my courses, I focus on de-centering white, cis-, ableist, and heteronormative practices by challenging my students to create work that is intersectional and accessible to all. My design students end the semester committed to creating a department that is anti-racist and building an industry that is truly diverse, wholly inclusive, and equitably just.

Because design can become an avenue for restorative justice, healing, social change, political critique, and dismantling oppressive behaviors it is my firm belief that a professor of design should be attentive to the emotional needs of each creative student while also maintaining the ability to foster a sense of academic achievement. In providing a safe space for all students -one that is rooted in the idea of diversity, equity, and inclusion- the potential for students’ creativity becomes boundless.

Design is, at its core, the visual representation of an entire complex and nuanced story. It is our duty as teachers and artists to reinforce these ideas.