TEACHING
Since I first taught Shakespeare as a visiting guest professor at Duke University NC, I have found teaching theatre and acting both fascinating and rewarding. Since then, I have taught and directed Shakespeare and just about everything else at UK drama schools – notably RADA, Guildhall, Rose Bruford – and on a wide variety of undergraduate programs both in the UK and the USA.
In the classroom I aim to approach a classic text as if it were newly written, and new writing as if it were already a classic. I ask students to consider why we are studying a given work, what values and messages it holds, and how it might be staged so as to represent and interrogate these values.
As a director, above all else I aim to serve the playwright and articulate their particular voice. I encourage the performers to make their own choices and test the boundaries of their courage in a supportive rehearsal space. My principal aim is to make them feel confident, powerful and proud of their individual – and collective – talent.
As a director, above all else I aim to serve the playwright and articulate their particular voice. I encourage the performers to make their own choices and test the boundaries of their courage in a supportive rehearsal space. My principal aim is to make them feel confident, powerful and proud of their individual – and collective – talent.
"In short, Jonathan Cullen is one of the most consistent, assured and valued visiting teacher-directors on the RADA roster, someone we frequently turn to for his expertise and broad skill set; a craftsman who, as may be clear from the range above, is as at home in the world of heightened text as he is in that of contemporary and even avant garde theatre. The feedback on his work from students has never been less than glowing." -- Ed Kemp, Director OF RADA, 2007-2021 |
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TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Duke University Theater Dept, Durham, North Carolina
Visiting guest professor between 1998 & 2023, teaching Shakespeare and classical drama, modern theatre, intro to performance
Portland State University
Intensive Shakespeare performance course
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London
Four productions as guest director: Macbeth, The Stone, Stars in the Morning Sky, In the Summer House
As teacher: intro to poetry course, Shakespeare’s sonnets course
Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London
Taught acting in Restoration theatre, directed the Double Dealer
Rose Bruford Drama School, London
Taught foundation course, masterclasses in performance technique
British American Drama Academy, London
Taught courses on Shakespeare, acting techniques, intensive tutorials
Theatre Academy, London
Courses on Shakespeare, contemporary performance
Fordham University London Program
Shakespeare, contemporary performance
Niagara University, London
Shakespeare, modern and classical theatre
ACT Conservatory, San Francisco
Taught Shakespeare masterclass and as guest director: The Beaux Stratagem
Actors Centre, London
Led courses for industry professionals on poetry in performance
Visiting guest professor between 1998 & 2023, teaching Shakespeare and classical drama, modern theatre, intro to performance
Portland State University
Intensive Shakespeare performance course
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London
Four productions as guest director: Macbeth, The Stone, Stars in the Morning Sky, In the Summer House
As teacher: intro to poetry course, Shakespeare’s sonnets course
Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London
Taught acting in Restoration theatre, directed the Double Dealer
Rose Bruford Drama School, London
Taught foundation course, masterclasses in performance technique
British American Drama Academy, London
Taught courses on Shakespeare, acting techniques, intensive tutorials
Theatre Academy, London
Courses on Shakespeare, contemporary performance
Fordham University London Program
Shakespeare, contemporary performance
Niagara University, London
Shakespeare, modern and classical theatre
ACT Conservatory, San Francisco
Taught Shakespeare masterclass and as guest director: The Beaux Stratagem
Actors Centre, London
Led courses for industry professionals on poetry in performance
All Photos © Cammie Toloui