Jennifer Matthews Ezell  is a dramaturg, theatre administator, teacher, and director who has collaborated on more than 20 pieces, including traditional plays and new works. Ezell received a bachelor's degree in English and Theatre from Southern Arkansas University (2005) and a Master's of Art in Theatre from Missouri State University (2012). She is currently particpating in The True Acting Institute's Meisner Teacher Training program under Larry Silverburg.

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Teaching Philosophy and Artist Statement

 

The primary basis of my teaching philosophy, on stage and in the classroom,  is learner-centered education and active learning.  It is important for educators to develop techniques and approaches that support student-instructor and student-student collaboration to encourage students to integrate new material into their knowledge base in a meaningful way.  This approach allows students the opportunity to develop their own solutions to problems based on their unique perspectives and experiences instead of relying on rote learning.  If students can integrate material and develop critical thinking skills, those skills should be able to cross disciplines and be incorporated by the student outside of the classroom setting.

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I am most inspired by theatre’s unique capacity to reveal truths, create dialogue, and effect positive social change. Regardless of the role I play in a particular production, I always seek to make my contribution intensely collaborative. If theatre is to truthfully show the diversity of the human experience, then theatre process must be collaborative and trhive on a synthesis of ideas.