Faculty Statement: Shannon Marie Sullivan

I want to start by saying thank you for your bravery in sharing your personal experiences yesterday. I am horrified by some of your stories. I am horrified that these actions were committed, and often by well-meaning faculty. I am horrified to know that the Leadership of the school knew of many of these events and turned away and did nothing. 

And I am sorry. I am sorry for any aggressions or transgressions I have made, known and unknown. I am sorry for my part in not addressing the systemic problems of Circle that were obvious when I began teaching two years ago. I am sorry that I did not fight harder on your behalves. I am at the beginning of my journey as an educator. And while I would never wish any of you to experience these traumas, I hope you believe that by sharing them you have changed my course as an educator. Your stories are ones that I will carry with me and use as an energizing force to continue to educate myself and create change in the education of artists. I hope that that knowledge relives at least a small bit of the load that you carry. 

I vow to listen. 

I vow to believe. 

I vow to question and act; to stand up and speak loudly. 

I vow to not settle for “good enough”. 

I vow to use my Privilege and my Passion to create a safe space for all the artists whose lives and educational journeys I am lucky enough to be a part of. 

As a speech teacher, I have been clear to my students that the methodology of Edith Skinner is outdated. But I will go further and say it is racist. While the foundation of my speech teaching is based in methods by Dudley Knight and Beth McGuire, I will continue to research and educate myself in the methods of speech work that have emerged as our society and industry have evolved. I plan to work with students to ensure that they understand their own personal dialects and use THAT as their foundation rather than a white-washed, neutral “General American” from which to learn accents and dialects. I will put less emphasis on the tool of IPA and lift up the other tools that I teach in order to create an inclusive learning environment for students of all backgrounds and with all abilities. I will hold myself and other faculty accountable for understanding the difference between intelligibility and being non-American or non-white. I will emphasize the validity of the individual and the importance of character. 

I have already made some concrete proposals to the Leadership which include: eliminating use of Edith Skinner as the bedrock of speech; requesting additional, individual time for ESL and non-American students; the consideration of combining Voice & Speech to decrease the focus on Speech work and incorporate it more clearly in to acting work; moderated conversations for voice and speech faculty which would lead to deeper communion within those courses; and school-wide understanding and enforcement of the updated speech methodologies for use in other facultys’ classrooms. 

As an acting teacher, I promise to read, watch, and listen to plays, films, television shows, and other related story-telling written by and for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ artists. I will incorporate these works in to my curriculum as well as in conversations. I will remain honest about my experience of the industry, but with the added awareness of the lens with which my students and colleagues may receive my thoughts, experiences, and opinions. 

I refuse to allow my position of power as an educator to put me in a place of Godliness. I am human. I am flawed. I am a teacher, but also a fellow artist and a colleague to my students. I will allow myself to learn from my students as much as I hope they will and have learned from me. I will not stop learning or listening or engaging or evolving.

I will hold myself accountable to these actions and standards wherever I teach. I hope that the Leadership at Circle in the Square Theatre School does the same.

— Shannon Marie Sullivan