Picture it: a classroom full of students, brand new to the United States, who may or may not yet be able to respond in English to the question, “What is your name?” I may or may not speak their native languages. We use gestures, pictures, some songs and dances, and a LOT of repetition with varied intonation and big movements, to make things entertaining. Somehow, this is familiar territory for me, thanks in part to my time as a Tour Actor/Director with MCT. Who would have thought that the week I spent in Alamos, Sonora, Mexico would impact my future career as an English Language Development teacher as much as it did?
I still can hardly believe that I managed to direct an entire production in a language that was not my own, and I often think about how it felt to be a foreigner in a new place, not only in Mexico, but in each different town across North America, during each residency week of my three-year stint as a TAD. I was fortunate enough to have had tour partners with whom I am still close friends even twenty years later, but leaving the small western Maryland town where I grew up and traveling through 30 different states and three different countries required more bravery than I ever thought possible. It made me brave enough to start my teaching career in Utah, to move to Costa Rica, to learn several languages, to travel the world, to move my family to Baltimore, Maryland, and to raise a theatre-loving daughter of my own. But then again, that’s what MCT does: changes lives through participation in the performing arts.
I am proud to say I am a better person, a more well-rounded individual, and an exceptional teacher as a direct result of my training and experience with Missoula Children’s Theatre, and I’m forever grateful for their mission and vision, which continue to empower and inspire future generations of lifelong learners.
We prompted Diana for more details to share with readers:
*MCT Tour Actor/Director from 2005-2008 (Alice in Wonderland, The Jungle Book, The Pied Piper, and Robin Hood y Los Heroes de Sherwood).
*Favorite use of joy miles: Grand Canyon
*Favorite tour week: Las Vegas, NV
*Favorite role after MCT: Mama Bear in Shrek at the Egyptian Theater in Park City, UT
