Jan 20, 2023

Personnel Steering Committee,

I'm applying for Continuing Appointment as Assistant Professor of Performing Arts.

In my time here I have grown as a person, educator and artist. My design collaborations with the Faculty Directors has elevated my work and increased my drive to share my discoveries and inspire students.  I am excited to keep this momentum and trajectory moving forward and grow with this department as it becomes a major player in Musical Theatre education. I have developed relationships and trust with students. I now have students seeking my expertise for Independent studies in the ares of design and scenic painting.

 It is my goal to spark the curiosity and imagination of my students and get them to see their surroundings and their world through a different lens.  I show them that the elements of design and conventions of the theatre affect them daily. Light, sound, color and form manipulate and shape their emotions.  Clothing, body language and voice convey deeper meanings than most people were aware of.  I especially enjoy opening the eyes of non-majors and challenging their awareness of the world around them.

 In my time here I have continued my exploration of projection mapping technologies in theatre design.  Working alongside the professional staff in the department, we have pushed each other to learn and develop ideas and techniques to utilize this trending new art form in the industry.

 I also, keep in practice of my painting and drawing techniques and skill sets as the Scenic Charge Artist for the Theatre Productions. I’m continuing talks with the Art Dept. on ways to share resources and overlapping coursework. As I strive to create a design and tech focused classes in the Performing Arts our  added design courses will benefit their students also.

 In response to my CTE’s I have made changes in the way I organize my time with assigning written work and allowing the time to grade them.  In the past I have assigned written papers during my busy periods and found it difficult to finish my grading in a timely manner.  I have since paid more attention to my calendar and timeline so I have more time to grade and return my papers to students. I have discovered the benefits of grading papers and tests within Blackboard.   I have also adjusted my Tech Theatre course.  Past students expressed interest in having more classwork apply to the current productions. I have kept my core assignments but have geared them toward the work onstage and am more active in involving the students in that process.

 Since COVID I have developed design courses to support our Musical Theatre program.  I have worked on the coursework syllabi and have planned how the overall arc of the design program connects the various classes together with a clear through line. These design courses are a way to keep students engaged in the performing arts that may learn that they are not on the right path in performance. I have talked with faculty and staff about integrating the classes in design and ways they support each other as well as each level of classwork having a different theme or focus aimed at developing methods and tools for young designers.  I am excited to teach young artists, designers and technicians the art and craft of theatre and ways to interpret the world around them.  These courses will have a strong foundation in written text, interpretation and understanding and how to respond to that text through visual media.  The courses will also have a strong foundation in the methods, language and concepts of art making.  These foundations will give the students a universal language in design to communicate their ideas. I will also give them the tools of visual storytelling and how to approach design with a statement and aesthetic point of view.

Scott Holdredge