Barry C. Rich, Professional and Educational Portfolio

As I am looking back over the spring semester, I think that I have gained a lot of knowledge in certain areas and have refreshed my knowledge in others. I think that the MFA at MUW is going to help me be a better instructor and lead on the productions at UT Southern.

For my playwriting class this semester, I have found that I have a renewed love of writing. I have really enjoyed working on my play Return to Opelika. The play is about a young man Adam coming home to tell his family that he is gay but also that he might have HIV. Weaving together this story has really gotten me in the headspace to create more plays. And I plan to write a Christmas show for UT this fall based on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. I am in the planning stages on this, but I think that it will be well-received and have a lot of impact as I think about the actors I have and help tailor the show around them.

Additionally, in Design and Production I, I think that much of what we covered has really enlightened me on certain aspects of the design process. While I have done theatre and design for a while, I have been on a survival mode ideology, doing what is possible with the casts and materials that I have. I think that the class has helped me be more proactive in what I can do. I also think that it has helped refresh me on certain areas that I had been away from for a little bit, like lighting. I also think that creating lesson plans has become a bit easier for me. The fall was a little more of a learning experience as my background is not in K-12 education. The process and planning is getting easier.

Ultimately, I think this semester has been one that will help me in my future coursework. I look forward to the residency in the summer of 2023 to help increase these skills even more.