Hello,
I am currently a native English teacher at a private university affiliated elementary school in Taiwan. This year I started a drama club with my students. My colleagues thought I was crazy as in previous years I had a Minecraft club with over 20 students and with the drama club I went down to 10, and we are paid based on the number of students in the club. But for me, it was a challenge and a passion. And I have loved every moment. No matter how bad my day is, I always look forward to the drama club on Wednesdays. My little group is even going to perform for the student recruitment day (an audience of over 500) this Saturday with a story they came up with.
I have decided I want to try to pursue this more, however I have no formal training in theater. I was a thespian in high school and had lead and supporting lead roles in several shows. I also worked at Disney as a Jungle Cruise skipper (essentially a one-person show) as well as a guided tour guide (a 4.5-5 hour one-person show).
I have purchased some basic textbooks on theater like,
The Creative Spirit: An Introduction to Theater Fifth Edition by Stephanie Arnold and
The Stage and the School by Harry Schanker and Katharine Anne Ommanney. I also bought a few books about teaching theater to children. I am currently enrolled in Moreland University which is an online teacher prep course that also helps your obtain your US teaching license. I plan on taking the Arizona subject teacher test in theater to become certified.
I would like to ask the community if you have any additional suggestions to bolster my credentials given that my formal education is a BA and MA in anthropology and not theater.
Thanks for reading and your suggestions.
Click here for a link to my drama club's google site with photos and videos. If you are interested.------------------------------
Sean Graham
Native English Teacher and Lecturer
The Affiliated High School at Tunghai University, Elementary Division
Xitun District, Taichung City
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