Acting Apprentice and Teaching Artist at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati

In March of 2021 I accepted a position as both an Acting Apprentice and a Teaching Artist at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati. Immediately, I was cast as the understudy for Omari in Pipeline by Dominique Morriseau. So far, we rehearsed online a bit before moving to the stage. What’s interesting to note here is that this entire cast save for one person are all returning from their 2020 production, which was cut because of Covid. So it’s been interesting to observe the actors and the director choose what to keep the same and what to update. I’m kind of sidelined right now but I love watching how each actor takes their notes and listening to Ron OJ Parson’s directing style. My biggest takeaway thus far from Ron is that when you direct, to always put your personality into it, to keep transitions clean, and to always start with the aspect of love.

As a Teaching Artist here, I had two in-school residencies that both went virtual. At one school, my students write, design, rehearse, and perform their own play. It’s all about a fun and interactive hands-on introduction to theatre. This residency spans 10 weeks, with more than 30 hours of instruction  Since these plays are written with the class, each student has a speaking part. Likewise, students design and learn about props, costumes, and scenery and witness how their ideas come to life. At the other school, I teach through the Hunter Heartbeat Program, which is a series of Shakespeare-based theatre games created for people with autism which aims to enhance social and emotional interactions which are often challenging. One of my students who was very reserved and appeared reluctant to participate in class is already improving. Over just a few weeks, she came out of her shell; she began sitting with classmates, asking to join the games, cheering on her peers, and smiling throughout class.