All the world's a stage; This is just rehearsal.
{ About Me }
Si Mon'
Emmett
Education & Youth Programs Associate
Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Ms. Emmett is a multi-faceted theater artist and educator, who takes pride in empowering others. Her commitment to community engagement is proven through her work with non-profit organizations across the country. From Chicago to Austin to Berkeley, her creative projects have been centered on amplifying the young voice within -- and now beyond -- her Texas community.
A growing artist and life-long learner, she has taken much joy in directing both youth and adults, leading production teams, developing Drama-Based pedagogy that focuses on Social Emotional Learning, and facilitating workshops on Hip Hop Theater.
Having received her Performing Arts Teacher Certification in May 2018, her mission as an educator and administrator will be to build a positive learning environment where students can feel free to explore and take risks that are vital for growth within and beyond the boundaries of the classroom or rehearsal space. Her purpose as an arts educator is to nurture such growth for our future community leaders by empowering the voices they perhaps aren’t even aware they have.
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artist;
Directing | Facilitating Workshops & Seminars | Performing
educator;
Teaching Philosophy
As an artist and as an educator, I deeply value the ongoing process of discovery. Whether discovery is experienced by my students or myself, my intentions with arts-based instruction are to foster courage, creativity, and a love for learning. Because of this, the baseline of my teaching philosophy is rooted heavily in Social-Emotional Learning. I will always implement lessons with SEL at the core because my goal as an educator is to build a positive learning environment where students can feel free to explore and take those risks that are vital within and beyond the boundaries of the classroom or rehearsal space. Through this type of instruction, students are continuously being challenged to build meaningful connection—to one another, and to the content.
Through my pedagogical practice, I aim to empower the young voice and foster an environment where students are courageous allies who attain a sense of empathy, responsiveness, and thoughtfulness toward their peers. Touching again upon the benefits of Social-Emotional Learning, by engaging in various drama-based and discussion-driven activities, students will learn how to take ownership of their actions, better understanding how certain type of decisions may affect those around them.
My teaching approach encourages critical thinking through artistry as a means for evoking imagination and inquiry. Through interactive classroom activities that cater to the kinesthetic, auditory, visual and other types of learners, drama-based pedagogy keeps students engaged and ever curious. My philosophical perspective on maintaining a safe and productive space includes clearly communicating standards for appropriate behavior and prioritizing high levels of student involvement, leaving opportunity for their engagement and voice. Non-traditional teaching styles, such as those that use drama, open opportunities for sustained engagement on one topic at a time, which is important for cognitive growth and development of individual perspective and creativity. My purpose as an arts educator is to nurture such growth for our future community leaders by empowering the voices they perhaps aren’t even aware they have.
When I was first introduced to theater, I had no idea what I was getting into. I grew up in an environment where attending professional theatrical productions, going to art galleries, and even applying for college weren’t exactly priorities. We were a working-class, single-parent family and merely getting by month-to-month. However, my sophomore year in high school, I walked aimlessly into a theater class and somehow walked out with the confidence to change the world. Not recognizing it then, but looking back through a different lens now, I see that in the one school year of third period Theater I, I found an ability to claim my presence in a room.
I found the arts, then I found my voice.
In my few years of teaching, whether it be in the after-school programs as a teaching artist with Creative Action, or through my lessons taught in the field, I have found that empowering the young voice has become a core aspect of the type of learning and discovery I want to encourage for my students.
Confident leaders can be formed in many ways. My hope is that through sharing work, listening to others, and developing language around constructive feedback, my students will form the type of communication skills necessary of positive role-models. At the start of the school year, I would begin with establishing relationships with my students, building trust in the space and allowing room for beneficial risk-taking and opportunity to try new things. Through scaffolding at a pace suitable for the group, opportunities for new challenges would gradually be heightened so that students are constantly growing, both as an individual and in the context of a team.
A huge aspect of my teaching philosophy depends upon establishing community within a group of young people by first understanding my students on an individual basis, allowing them the chance to understand their own identities, then giving them the opportunity to understand others. My goal is to create a classroom community where differences are acknowledged and celebrated, while unity through team building is still maintained. Thus, strengthening a student’s sense of contribution to their peers and to their communities at large.
These core values are vital to the makeup of my teaching method as an arts educator. Without the promotion of discovery—of self, others, or the world around us—my practice as a teacher has no purpose. Since the day I left my first theater class and continued into the world of artistry, my focus has been on exploring what it means to be a contributing part something larger than myself. I intend to bring this same mentality into my classroom…along with a few props, a narrative, and an
ever-present love of learning.
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activist;
As an Afrolatina artist in my community, I have found it essential to discover ways of creating safe spaces for people of color.
Approaches I have taken in doing this include being a member of Chulita Vinyl Club, an all-vinyl DJ collective for self-identifying womxn of color in the context of providing a space for empowerment and togetherness.
Additionally, I--along with other great young minds-- created foundation for SCOPE (Students of Color Organization for Performance & Engagement), UT Department of Theatre and Dance's first POC centered student organization.
Chulita Vinyl Club also aims to create and contribute to spaces specifically for women.
By staying involved in women-centered events and movements throughout California and Texas, our all-female club remains at the forefront of social activism for women's empowerment.
An educator, artist, and advocate for social justice, I have used my skill set to amplify the young voice
through a variety of events and activities.
Click here to see how >
contact
| Tel: (806) 787-9446
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