Faculty Member, Communication
Associate Professor
Regis College, Regis University, Denver, CO
About
I'm interested in imagination, creativity and aesthetic experience; in behavioral approaches to communication, and in performance. I'm curious about the applications of some communication and performance theories in institutional settings such as prisons, schools and hospitals. At Regis, I teach courses in theory, dialogue, writing and performance. Some of my classes have a community-based learning element. In them, and in the theatre projects I write and develop, I like to explore experiences of membership and inclusion, marginalization and exclusion through the lens of performance theory. Recently, I developed comedy performances, with students, that promote and sometimes provoke dialogue about difference and stigma. I'm currently working on developing an internet-and-physically-based play, or interplay, that employs a combination of social media and wireless technologies as well as embodied performances to tell stories. The play, "Face," is a collaboration with Modern Muse Theatre Company of Denver, and includes teen writers, photographers, videographers and actors. In it, we look at common experiences shared by many teenagers today, and at how the use of social networks figures into those experiences. Over my sabbatical this past fall, I wrote, with Amie Dowling, of the University of San Francisco, an article about teaching performance as a community-based learning course in a correctional institution: how such a course came about, how it was effected, who it impacted, how it was assessed, and what came of it. We show how PACE (Performing Arts and Community Exchange, the title of the course) beautifully reflects all the core values promoted by Jesuit higher education. This all sounds very serious, when actually, I'd rather be laughing.
