Jeannie Marie

The integrated nature of my scholarship compliments and informs both an active professional and academic life. Why? All theatrical programs, within an educational setting, interlace classroom exploration with applications of learned technique in production. Directors provide the artistic vision and oversight for this portion of the curriculum. My research in the classroom informs the development of methodology, adding to artistic practice in production that reaches far beyond the space of academia.  

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As a director, my interest and expertise areas include classical theatre, new works, dance-theatre, devising (collaborative-creation), and musical theatre. With origins in dance, I investigate the interplay of body architecture, language, space, and sound. With a Dance-Theatre aesthetic, my productions often create an experience to reveal meaning rather than commit to a literal definition. While not necessarily the intent, the work stretches the definition of theatre. What inspires me is the endless capacity to explore a new way of seeing the world, staging questions, creating hope-filled possibility, or merely cultivate conversation. All the while maintaining a sense of humor to create moments of connections through physical representations of the human experience.

I see theatre as a humanizing force that draws strangers together to challenge stereotypes, build community, cultivate compassion, and provide perspective. Lofty ideals, indeed, but also the intrinsic motivator to create, to give, and to be heard as an artist. The discipline of directing evokes life-long learning, with an infinite number of topics to explore, including but not limited to history, literature, psychology, philosophy, all adding to the stories that ask enormous questions about life, love, death, and hope. As a scholar, my work in the areas of directing, acting, sound design, and producing reflect an endless curiosity to solve problems and engage with people in a way that helps me to keep growing as a person, director, and professor contributing to our society and adding value.