Dr. Martha S. LoMonaco, PhD.
 

Educational Philosophy

My goal as a teacher is to inspire students to care, to be passionate about ideas, issues, and people beyond their immediate scope of existence. I want students to take the passion and knowledge gleaned in my class to their experience in other classes, to extracurricular events, and to a more complex appreciation of the world in which we live. Ultimately, I hope that through these explorations they will come to a deeper understanding of themselves as individuals and as active participants in the many communities—family, religious, campus, and societal—to which they belong. I encourage them to link history, theories, and ideas generated in class to artistic, social, and political events that transform the world. To realize this goal, I design my courses to extend beyond the classroom experience. In my theatre history and production courses, this means a tangible linkage to Theatre Fairfield productions since the goal of Fairfield’s theatre program is to offer a liberal arts education balanced between the theoretical and practical aspects of the discipline. What we learn in the classroom, we put into practice in the theatre. Although this is a normative approach in all my theatre courses, every few years I offer special seminars specifically designed to culminate in a theatrical production. I provide in-depth information on how these courses, which have provided the academic foundations for my productions of Twelfth Night (Spring 1994), The Rover (Fall 1998) and Henry IV, Part One (Spring 2002), have evolved over the years. Whenever possible, I also create courses to reach a much wider audience than those specifically interested in theatre studies. I offer two examples below. The first, Examining the 60s: History, Art, and Legacy, was a class linked to a major campus event, the 60s Project, which occurred in Fall 1999. The second, Introduction to Asian Theatre, which was a world diversity course with predominantly non-theatre students, was first offered in Spring 2004 to coincide with the world English-language premiere of Hirata Oriza’s award-winning Japanese play, Tokyo Notes.

All of my courses require that students be effective communicators in written and oral forms. Writing is a major component of every class I teach, even those, such as Acting and Directing, that are oriented towards performance. I also encourage students to rewrite papers as often as they wish to learn the importance of reflection, editing, and rewriting for more effective expression of ideas.

All of my classes also require student presentations, frequently more than one per semester, so that students become more confident and comfortable public speakers. I give feedback to all students to ensure that subsequent presentations are stronger in form and content.

Finally, as an artist and teacher of art, I constantly am seeking ways to help students understand why art matters—to them as individuals, to communities of people, and to civilization at large. Art is not simply an adjunct to society or something we do to idle away spare hours; it is a necessary expression of who we are, and it represents the best achievements of humankind. It is through art that we understand the complexities of life and wrestle with what it means to be human. Students often feel that art is simply an outpouring of emotions; I want them to understand that true art is the seamless fusion of reason and emotion, of form and content, and of hearts and minds.