Retired English/Drama/Speech Teacher

Kimberly P.

Acting

I have a Bachelor's of Education with a double major in English and Dramatic Arts. My Dramatic Arts major led me to take classes in Acting and Directing. I began acting in high school, and continued into college. In addition to teaching Acting I, II, III, IB Theatre, and Theatre Production, I have also participated in community theatre groups, both as an actor and a director. My experience has given me a strong skill set to help students prepare for upcoming auditions, for school shows as well as college and camp programs. I have worked with students both in group settings and as a private tutor. My own acting experience leans towards musical theatre, so I have worked extensively with students who were preparing for musical theatre auditions. I have about 25 years of experience in choral groups and several years of private voice instruction.

English

Bachelor's of Science in Secondary Education with a double major in English and Speech and Dramatic Arts.

Essay Writing

I have a Bachelor's of Science with a major in English. In addition to grade level English classes, I have taught Intermediate Writing, which is a class that focused on writing structure, specifically the basic five-paragraph essay structure. This class was designed to make sure students who struggled with writing essays understood the format of all the basics of the essay-hook, thesis statement, topic sentences, support, citing sources, review and conclusion. As part of this class, students learning the basics of finding credible sources to support their opinion, and elaborate on their topic. My experience was primarily with English Language Learners, Special Service Students, and some reluctant learners. By the end of the semester long course, all students had proficiency in essay structure.

Public Speaking

I have a Bachelor's of Science with a major in Speech and Dramatic Arts. As part of this major, I team-taught Speech 101 with a graduate assistant while still a student at CMU. When teaching in the high school setting, I taught a variety of speech and public speaking courses. Speech was a required class for graduation in a couple school districts in which I taught. In these classes, students learned the structure of various types of speeches such as informative, persuasive, speeches to entertain and to teach (how-to). In addition to this classroom experience, I coached competitive speech for 13 years with our forensics team. This involved one-on-one coaching to help kids choose topics, develop their speeches, create visual aides if required, deliver them using the standards of platform movement, and complimentary gestures. They also learned how to use their voices to effectively and clearly impart their topic to their audiences. My experience in teaching speech methods focused on high school as well as adult education students.

Theater

I possess a Bachelor's of Science in Education, with a double major in English and Speech and Dramatic Arts. I have taught a wide variety of Acting classes: Acting I, II, and III, Theatre Production, Stagecraft, and International Baccalaureate Theatre in the high school setting. In addition to that, I have tutored acting and musical theatre students privately in preparation for college auditions, performing arts camp scholarships, and auditions for middle and high school plays and musicals. I have directed shows such as Phantom of the Opera School Edition, and the Michigan premiere of Les Miz High School Edition. My background in directing is extensive. I have directed well over 60 shows, including both musicals and straight plays. Additionally, in preparation to teach International Baccalaureate Theatre, I had to attend workshops in California and Texas to learn the curriculum. These classes exposed me to many types of world theatre. Finally, I also am active with several community theatre groups where I have acted in shows, directed shows, worked backstage, and been members of the board of directors.