Meet Our Faculty: Charlie Monte

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

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.