The Department of Theatre, Film, and Media Arts is excited to announce several guest speakers whose work addresses DEI on, off, and around the stage!
Our first guest is Nyama McCarthy-Brown, an Associate Professor of Community Engagement through Dance Pedagogy at The Ohio State University. Nyama is a nationally recognized culturally sustaining educator who has been an active performer, choreographer, and educator for 20 years. She is the author of Dance Pedagogy for a Diverse World: Culturally Relevant Teaching in Research, Theory, and Practice. She regularly teaches courses in Dance Education, Community Engaged Artmaking, Black Dance Continuum, and Contemporary Dance with Africanist underpinnings grounded in the celebration of all movers.
Nyama will lead an interactive discussion from 12:00-1:00 p.m. on October 16th in room #215 of the Theatre, Film, and Media Arts building. The talk is open to all faculty, graduate students, and staff.
Before her talk, consider previewing some of her DEI-realted scholarship!
- “Decolonizing Dance Curriculum in Higher Education: One Credit at a Time,” Journal of Dance Education 14, no. 4 (2014).
- “Navigating Anti-Racism in an Anti-Black Landscape: A Dance Educator’s Reflection,” International Journal of Education & the Arts 23, no. 1 (2022).
In November, the department will host Chari Arespacochaga, who will be guest directing Kinky Boots at the Short North Stage (Nov. 24-Dec. 31). Chari is a director for theatre, film, multimedia, special events, and concerts with working experience in the United States, the Philippines, Asia, and Australia.
Her directing credits include The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (University of California), Amadeus and Stupid Kids(Phoenix Theatre, Victoria), 9 Minutes (for PopUP Theatrics NYC), Rock of Ages, The Full Monty, Disney’s Tarzan, Spring Awakening, Legally Blonde, Altar Boyz, and Into The Woods, among others. She has also co-directed productions of Disney’s The Little Mermaid and Aladdin, as well as Avenue Q, and created musical staging for Next To Normal, A Little Night Music, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Tick… Tick… Boom!
Additionally, Chari serves as a Director for Creative Development for S.T.R.O.N.G. Edutainment. She is in the process of adapting a series of stories about a culturally diverse group of princesses/superheroines called the “Guardian Princesses” into musicals for young audiences. These musicals will be created using various creative methodologies and seek to incorporate multimedia and a variety of theatrical techniques and devices from different cultures and traditions.
Chari will present from 12:00-1:00 p.m. on November 13th in room #215 of the Theatre, Film, and Media Arts building. The talk is open to all faculty, graduate students, and staff.