I have come a long way to finally decide on my career choice. I have been involved in theatre since junior high and am now majoring in Theatre Arts. My potential outlook on my teaching career is to be a high school drama teacher. I've had many great experiences from my high school days and one of my goals is to take those experiences and heighten them for my students. I believe that my teaching on theatre can really help students branch out from thier "shy shell" and to start critically examining their environments and to be mentally in sync with one another.
I didn't exactly start out with theatre thinking I was going to teach it. I wanted to do theatre because it brought out the best of me. Being engaged with other people on stage in another world that we created is somewhat surreal. As I was growing up, that's the thing that helped me branch out my emotions. I would create alternative universes to live in and to wrinkle out my real world situations. Like any other kid, I just wanted to play. This is very similar now as a theatre major. As I perform on stage, I want to play with others to create a definite space between reality and fantasy. With teaching this form of art, I want to be able to teach my students to realize the importance of theatre and performing as I am now.
With all this in mind, I don't know exactly where to start when it comes to teaching. I am still wondering how you can teach theatre in a manner where the students can get something out of it, even if they don't want to continue with it like I am. There are real world advantages that can come out theatre. So does this make theatre essential and relevant in the classroom today? I really think so. I want to explore the possibilities and become the best teacher I can be.
David Kepner
