Get ready for Back to School as our panel of dance and theatre educators discuss equity in the classroom.
Meet the Panelists:
Dr. Jimmy Chrismon is a theatre educator with 17 years of experience in the public schools of North and South Carolina. He currently teaches full time as an Assistant Professor of Theatre Teacher Education at Illinois State University. He was an adjunct theatre faculty member at Winthrop University and Central Piedmont Community College. He has acted, directed, designed, and produced professionally for 24 years. He received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theatre Education from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte where he was a North Carolina Teaching Fellow. He received his Master of Education Degree in Theatre Education from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He most recently completed his Doctor of Education Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Gardner-Webb University. His dissertation was entitled “A Study of Theatre Teacher and School Administrator Perceptions of Traits, Characteristics, and Instructional Practices and Their Possible Role in Teacher Evaluation.” His current research continues with trauma-informed directing practices and wellness practices for theatre teachers. He has also worked for The Children’s Theatre of Charlotte and The Lake Norman School of the Arts. He is the 2022 recipient of the Johnny Saldana Outstanding Professor of Theatre Education Award from the American Alliance for Theatre and Education. He currently resides in Bloomington, Illinois.
Dr. Chrismon’s acting credits include: Lonely Planet, Doubt: A Parable, Company, The History Boys, Godspell, Shadow Box, The Baltimore Waltz, Tick, tick..Boom!, The Little Shop of Horrors, The Odd Couple, Children of Eden, Candide, The Miser, The Good Woman of Setzuan, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, The Altruists, The Crucible, Dracula, The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe, and others.
His directing credits include: Guys and Dolls, The Electric Baby, Seussical: The Musical, Godspell, Miss Nelson Is Missing, Rent, Spring Awakening, The Importance of Being Earnest, Children of Eden, Tarzan, Aida, All Shook Up, Grease, The Odd Couple, Lonely Planet, Interrupting Vanessa, Medea, the Wizard of Oz, A Raisin in the Sun, A Very Common Procedure, Geography Club, You’re a Good Man, Charlie, Brown, The Laramie Project, The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later, and others.
His professional affiliations include The American Alliance for Theatre Education, The Illinois Theatre Association, The Southeastern Theatre Conference, and The Educational Theatre Association. Check out Jimmy’s ThedTalks (Theatre Education Talks) podcast!
Crystal U. Davis, MFA, CLMA is a dancer, movement analyst, and critical race theorist. Her research explores implicit bias in dance and how privilege manifests in the body. Her work has been published in the Journal of Dance Education, Palgrave Handbook of Race and the Arts in Education, and in her forthcoming book, Dance and Belonging: Implicit Bias and Inclusion in Dance Education. As an artist, her performances span from Rajathani folk dance to postmodern choreography examining incongruities between what we say, what we believe, and what we do. She is an Assistant Professor of Dance Performance and Scholarship at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she teaches anti-racist pedagogy for dance and theatre, somatics, and movement analysis.
CashApp: $CrystalUDavis Venmo: @Crystal-U-Davis
Brianna Fallon, or affectionately known to many as “Miss Bri,” to her students, is a theatre artist around the Valley of the Sun in Phoenix Arizona doing things like acting, writing, directing, sound design and some light graphic design. She is the Academy Manager at Childsplay, a professional TYA orgination, where she manages dozens of classes and hundreds of students. In the evening she pursues all kinds of theatre projects that keep her busy. Brianna holds an AFA in Theatre and is currently attending college for a degree in music theatre. She studied acting at the Scottsdale Conservatory Theatre and the Megaw Actors Studio. Some of her favorite roles have been Dragon in “Shrek the Musical”, Tituba in “Crucible”, Lady in Brown in “For Colored Girls…”, and Sour Kangaroo in "Seussical the Musical".
Brianna has directed several plays and musicals for adults and young people. She's received AriZoni nominations for directing, writing, and sound design. Brianna is passionate about working with young people whether that be teaching, directing, or mentoring. Additionally, Brianna is an advocate for antiracist practices in the theatre world. She works to spread helpful, practical information on the topic in a kind, digestible way.
When not doing theatre you might catch her hiking with her adventurous husband, Justin, learning a new instrument, or designing a graphic for something.
Lexi Viernes is a Filipino-American dancer and educator from Half Moon Bay, CA. She received her BFA in Dance Performance at University of California Irvine, where she was a member of Dr. S Ama Wray's Jazz Dance Ensemble, and modern dance legend Donald Mckayle's Etude Ensemble. Professionally, she danced on tour with Billy Elliot the Musical, served as Dance Captain for the Entertainment shows with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, and freelanced in Los Angeles and New York City. Her teaching experience stems from teaching and choreographing in San Carlos at Melodic Remedy Dance studio, and more recently as a Middle School Dance Educator for Menlo School in Atherton CA. Lexi has recently relocated to New York City, where she is continuing her journey of teaching while freelancing as a bi-coastal dance artist and teacher. Venmo: Lexi-Viernes
IG: @LexiFriday
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