Name:
Katie Dawson
Unit and Program Area:
Performance Studies, Drama and Theatre for Youth and Communities
Classes you teach (have taught):
Acting for Non-Majors, Outreach Methods, Creative Drama I, Creative Drama II, Teaching Artists in Schools and Communities, Applied Drama and Theatre, Theatre-in-Education
I am also the faculty coordinator for UT's Arts in Communities outreach program, Drama For Schools. Currently, I am facilitating the Imagine Safer Schools project in Victoria, TX.
What you enjoy most about being a part of the UT Department of Theatre & Dance :
I am most inspired by the level of student engagement within the department and the greater community. Our students actively participate in their education, becoming advocates for their own emotional and intellectual development.
Favorite thing about Austin:
Green spaces, great people. . .it's a place where I feel that I'm the best version of myself.
Current projects/research/interests/hobbies:
I am exploring the use of collaborative, dialogic professional development programs in drama-based instruction as a way to make a sustainable improvement in K-12 school culture, teacher satisfaction, and student success.
The biggest risk you have taken to date :
Becoming a first-time mom and a first-time professor at the same time . . . neither was easy, but I love both jobs!
Something about yourself that we wouldn't know from reading your professional biography:
When I was sixteen, I was one of the original safety test crash dummies for the Department of Highway Safety. I used to appear as "Vince" at live trade shows, where I rapped about the importance of buckling your safety belt.
