Charlie Monte
Assistant
Professor of Theatre
School of:
Performing Arts
What he teaches:
Introduction to Theatre
Stage Craft and Theatre Lab
Introduction to Scenic Design
What he teaches:
Introduction to Theatre
Stage Craft and Theatre Lab
Introduction to Scenic Design
Number of years
teaching at SLCC:
four months
Undergraduate:
B.A. Fine Arts,
Whitworth University, Spokane WA
Master’s:
M.A.
Communications and Theatre, University of Arkansas (Jonesboro)
MFA Theatre University,
of Idaho (Moscow)
Why working at
SLCC matters:
I firmly believe that the four-year college experience is not for
everyone. By working at a two-year
institution that offers certificates as well as degrees, students are able to
get the training they need and further their life goals.
Greatest
professional challenge:
Developing a theater program as the artistic and technical director in a low income county in Washington that could thrive on its own with
little outside funding. To do so we had
to develop and train the active members how to most effectively create theatre
that had the most production value at the lowest possible cost. When we were able, we would get small grants
for capital purchases that, in our small space, made the most impact. We were not a “teaching” theater, but we also
wanted the members to know the technology and materials used in other theaters
around the country and world. Each production
was a tool used to introduce different materials and processes. All of this was on, at times, less than
a shoestring budget.
Greatest
professional accomplishment:
Running that small theatre in rural Washington that was
and is still successful. Successful to the point that we were able to purchase
a building and renovate it for our needs. This was in a community that had no active arts or theater programs in the
school. In a relatively impoverished
community with an extremely high unemployment rate, we developed an international
one-act play festival, new play workshops and high school student-produced
work. We had a full season of musicals,
plays and concerts. My pride comes from
doing all of this while essentially working two full-time jobs.
Advice for
students or others:
Stay true to you. Work
your craft. Stay true to your art.
Future plans:
After settling in some more, I'd like to work across disciplines and develop
some practical project-based applied learning courses for students.
Family:
Married
with three children
Hobbies:
Painting, drawing, amateur robotics and animatronics, 3D printing and CAD, occasional
video game playing, making things for around the house.
