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MATT OMASTA

theatre artist / scholar

Teaching Philosophy

Philosophy of Teaching

I believe the primary purpose of education is to help students become active and informed participants in a very complex world. As such, I believe my research, creative activity, and service should be grounded in and related to the experiences of my students. I believe that:

I am...

PassionateI inspire my students to learn and lead through my real and demonstrated devotion to theatre, drama, and education.A MentorI am genuinely interested in my students and their individual development. I work one - on - one with each student to serve as a guide on her or his academic and artistic journeys.ResourcefulI maintain expertise in my subjects so that I may best direct students as they delve into their own research and creative projects.

My students are...

ArtistsTheatre, drama, and education are art forms. Students are creative, innovative practitioners who approach learning from a plurality of diverse perspectives.ScholarsStudents pursue deep theoretical understandings and consider complex questions in the pursuit of knowledge.CitizensAs reflective critical thinkers, students consider the implications of their choices and actions on the world around them.

Learning is...

HeuristicI foster exploration, applaud risk-taking, and savor the understandings that come from trials and successes.Shared & EnduringI encourage collaboration, sharing of experiences, and meaningful connections to the world to ensure enduring understandings.VitalI believe education can change the world. By expanding our horizons and exploring a plurality of perspectives, we can challenge hegemony and improve standards of living.I teach and practice theatre to inspire new ways of thinking and to encourage students to explore the world from a variety of paradigms. I believe theatre is uniquely situated to encourage students to take on unfamiliar roles (literally and figuratively) and to better understand all forms of diversity. By embodying others (on or off stage), we continually come to understand pluralistic concepts of reality, allowing us to envision and actualize social change.Teaching Interests

Teaching Interests

Undergraduate and Graduate Courses of Interest:

Acting / Scene Study

Community-Based Performance

Directing

Dramatic Literature (BCE to Present)

Dramaturgy & Criticism

Educational Drama / Theatre in Education (History, Theory, Methods)

Educational Theory (20th Century to Present)

History of the Theatre (BCE to Present)

Introductions to Theatre / Drama / Performance

Oral Interpretation

Performance Studies

Playwriting, Adaptation, Devising

Public Speaking

Puppetry

Research Methods (Qualitative, Historiographical, Mixed Methods)

Script / Play Analysis

Storytelling

Theatre and Performance Theory

Theatre for Young Audiences (History, Theory, Practice)

Theatre Organization & Management

Seminar Topics of Interest

Performance and Cognition

Play as Performance / Identity Construction through Play

Ideology and Performance

Critcal Theory in Practice

Corporate Theatre (Disney, American Girl, et. al.)

Sample Syllabi

Sample Syllabi

Click the icon above any course title below to download a syllabusTheatre AppreciationImprovisation with Youth(Intro to Drama Education)College Teaching: PuppetryPuppetry with ChildrenIntro to Research WritingTestimonials

Student Testimonials

--COMING SOON--K-12 Teaching

K-12 Teaching

First Grade students create masks for a story dramatizationStudents conference on script changesA playwright displays two character profilesStudents direct and perform in their original playsStudents devise original sceneworkA student devises an original danceStudents develop charcters through improvisationPhotos from select K-12 classes

TEACHING

Teaching PhilosophyTeaching InterestsSample SyllabiTestimonialsK-12 TeachingCVHomeResearchCreativeContact