We’d love to help you get to know our incredible TBG teaching artists a little bit better, so we got Shannon Patterson to answer a few questions! Check out our interview with her below…
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What is your favorite class to teach at TBG and why?
SP: I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to teach both actors and directors. I find that switching between the two is super helpful. Often things happen in Scene Study that I can use as an example in Directing class, and vice versa.
Something we introduce in both these classes is an approach to script analysis that serves as a connective tissue for TBG students as they navigate using TBG tools and adjustments. It’s so exciting to see students feel confident about how straightforward and uncomplicated script analysis can be. It’s empowering and so useful in any situation involving storytelling! Really dig teaching that to all the classes!
What is something you recently learned or were reminded of in the world of acting, writing, or directing?
SP: I was just having lunch with a friend that I met working on set a while back. (They were the intimacy coordinator and I was the acting coach.) I’m always inspired when we get the opportunity to catch up and share how we are doing in our creative/professional projects. During this lunch date, I was reminded of a few fundamental truths about being a creative person.
The first is, sort of, a call to action. A reminder that we have a great opportunity as creative folks to continue to tell stories and create spaces where all people are included, represented, and feel safe to explore and play!
The other insight I wanted to share is about influence. My friend, Brooke Haney, also wrote a book, The Intimacy Coordinator’s Guidebook, (I highly recommend it!,) and in their dedication they said, “We don’t always know when we bless someone,” and that hit me so deeply as a teaching artist. Blessings are reciprocal. Brooke blessed me with their lunch conversation and sentiments in their book. Class is a blessing. Teaching is a blessing. Art is a blessing.
What is a recent, current, or upcoming project that you’d like folks to know about?
SP: This is scary to write…I’m writing. I heard the phrase “inspired action” in a meditation on my birthday, and it totally lit me up! That simple phrase motivated me to get going with my aspirations. Sometimes it’s so hard to get started. To take the small, boring steps of beginnings. For me, specifically, this means the act of sitting down to write! But inviting inspiration into the action I’m taking changes things. So…I am happy to report that, amongst other creative projects, I am beginning to write the scripts that have been living in the “Notes” section on my phone for years!
Because this is a new practice, I’m also learning what it means for me to take inspired action with writing specifically. Sometimes it’s a writing exercise. Sometimes I’m really hungry to transcribe my notes and build the story. Sometimes it’s creating an atmosphere that is conducive to writing; to simply sit down with a coffee, the right lighting, or some kind of instrumental music that inspires me to take the next step. If you see me in the halls or in class, please stop me and tell me about your writing discipline strategies!
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To take a class with Shannon…check out Intermediate Scene Study II: Exploring the Tools starting 3/30, Directing Workshop II starting 4/4, or Professional Scene Study Intensive II: Self-Adjustment starting 4/16!