My teaching is rooted in problem-based learning and experiential design. I treat the classroom as a laboratory for creative risk, where students learn by doing, writing, performing, analyzing, revising. Each course I teach requires students to take an active role in their own creative growth. I guide them through projects that challenge assumptions, frame creative problems, and build collaborative teams. I believe in meeting students where they are, both intellectually and technologically; I regularly use tools like discussion boards, social media, and visual platforms to extend the classroom beyond its walls and into the communities where their stories resonate.
Whether I am teaching playwriting, screenwriting, or creative writing at the introductory level, I aim to design courses that blend theory with practice. I often assign unconventional texts, Albert Camus’ Notebooks, Kurt Vonnegut’s “Bagombo Snuff Box,” or Charlie Chaplin films, not simply for what they say about writing or performance, but for how they model structure, tone, and discipline. Alongside these, I incorporate contemporary models of adaptation, such as the works of Charles L. Mee, as well as classical sources. This cross-temporal, interdisciplinary approach helps students understand that structure is fluid, voice is earned, and art is always in conversation with history.
In directing student work, I focus on ensemble-driven processes and horizontal criticism. My goal is not to shape students into “correct” playwrights or screenwriters, but to help them become more honest, more disciplined, and less wrong in their creative choices. We work together to develop a vocabulary of curiosity, rigor, and respect. I often reference Aristotle’s Poetics, Pixar’s rules for storytelling, and Patton Oswalt’s Montreal Address to help students locate their voices, and more importantly, to understand the context of those voices in collaborative and cultural spaces.
Teaching in a liberal arts environment has shown me that students thrive when challenged to synthesize artistic form with ethical inquiry and personal identity. At St. Edward’s University, I have mentored students from their first year to capstone, and beyond, supporting LGBTQ+, Latino, African American, and first-generation students as they move toward graduate study, publication, or professional creative work. This mentorship reflects my belief that creative writing is not simply an academic subject but a practice of resilience and belonging.
As Oscar Hammerstein once said, “Through your students, you will learn.” That is not just a philosophy but the reason I teach.