Courtesy call
I'll never forget the time a student approached me privately to say that she felt I had been impolite in my response to her question during class. Her own respectful attitude caused me to reflect on something that a colleague once shared with me about the attitude of a teacher. He said that educators are responsible not just for promoting knowledge but for delivering that knowledge in a courteous manner.

All the world's a stage
I travel a lot overseas to promote what I call "manyculturalism" because I think it's very important to encourage students toward a more cultural perspective. I teach an international group of students that often travel with me to participate in workshops and perform plays all over the world; we've traveled to countries such as Taiwan, Korea, the Czech Republic and Russia. I also try to produce plays that weave together elements from as many different cultures as possible. For example, for our "River Stories" project, we are sending an American student to Korea to gather stories about the Han River. A Thai playwright and a Czech director will use the information she collects as the basis for a new production.

The sincerest form of flattery
I have unwittingly become the disciple of a professor I had while a graduate student. Like him, I teach structure over theory, even though structure isn't considered as glamorous. I consider principles such as "forward strategy" and "parallelism" to be important elements of playwriting that should not be abandoned.

On self-sufficiency
I work for my students' success, but I try to give them as much responsibility for their own education as I can. I also try to be a good person. Only then can I gain credibility and earn their respect.

Behind the scenes
In my opinion, the best part about teaching at Miami is the staff! From the groundskeepers who keep the Ernst Nature Theater on the Western campus looking so beautiful to the motor pool folks who arrange transportation for all of our travel, I've found the staff to be absolutely indispensable.

You heard it here first
I think people would be surprised that I don't know half the languages they think I do! Some would also be surprised to learn that I like stupid movies, like "Dumb and Dumber"!