Information & Responsibilities
Position Category: Academic
Position title: Black Theater Studies and Performance
School: Theater
Reports to: Dean, School of Theater
Time: Part Time (0.75 FTE)
Appointment: Regular
Review of applications will begin: January 19, 2024
Currently one of the foremost performance and design programs in the world, the CalArts School of Theater seeks dynamic applicants for a part-time faculty position in Black Theater Studies and Performance. The appointment will begin in the Fall of 2024.
CalArts is seeking to employ faculty who can engage our diverse community of learners at the highest levels of artistic endeavor and critical thinking. Across the range of practitioners, we welcome candidates who possess a demonstrated worldview and cultural competency to support teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students of varied backgrounds, capabilities, perspectives, social identities, and gender expressions. CalArts is an equal opportunity employer.
Duties:
Joining one of the premiere faculties in the nation, the successful candidate will teach both MFA and BFA theater studies courses, as well as courses in performance. The position includes mentoring select students in their professional and artistic goals, advising students involved in Theater School projects, being part of a collaborative faculty with cross-disciplinary impulses, and serving on committees. In addition, the School of Theater seeks a candidate capable of contributing to the Institute’s professional producing arm, Calarts Center for New Performance (CNP), in programming and curatorial capacities.
The primary pedagogical role for the instructor will be to co-teach “Interpretive Strategies for Plays,” a class required of all MFA1s in Theater, as well as teaching courses to both BFAs and MFAs in other theater critical studies subjects and in performance. The successful candidate will bring their expertise in Black Theater Studies to the design and teaching of both required and elective courses, exploring the rich and varied work of Black artists, as well as Black cultural movements and creative practices, in both the United States and internationally. In addition, the instructor will help to mentor select advanced students through their CalArts experience and may also guide students on devised student-driven projects and aesthetically experimental work.
Responsibilities include:
- Class preparation, classroom instruction, and grading;
- 6 hours per week of classroom instruction;
- Mentoring of select advanced students (in alignment with fte);
- Mentoring of select student-driven projects (in alignment with fte);
- Consulting with the leadership team of CalArts Center for New Performance (CNP) on programming and other curatorial questions;
- Attending Full Faculty meetings, as well as relevant Performance Faculty meetings;
- Committee service;
- Maintaining professional practice.
Mentorship:
Mentorship of students is the cornerstone of the CalArts School of Theater. Even though each student is assigned to one specific mentor, it is the responsibility of the faculty to advise any student in the School of Theater if they have special knowledge or expertise that the student requires.
Requirements
Qualifications
The ideal candidate is an artist with a strong professional practice, a firm commitment to teaching, and a demonstrated skill and passion for working with theater students in both the early and advanced stages of their training. We welcome candidates who can substantially contribute to an artistic and intellectual community that includes a diversity of identities, perspectives, values, ideas, experiences, and beliefs.
The following qualifications are essential for a successful candidate:
- Significant experience as a performer, writer, and educator.
- Demonstrated teaching experience that bridges theory and practice.
- Expertise and publications in Black Theater Studies.
- Knowledge and experience of a variety of different performance practices, as well as a demonstrated engagement with experimental practices.
- Teaching and mentoring experience with devised project development.
- Strong professional experience and stature in the field of theater/performance.
- Effective leadership and organizational skills.
- MFA in Theater or equivalent.
How to Apply
Applications are due on January 19th. Position will remain open until filled. Please apply through Interfolio: apply.interfolio.com/135852
Interested applicants should submit the following:
- A letter of application. In this letter, please include a statement with a discussion of past and potential contributions to building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community.
- A summary of teaching philosophy.
- A current curriculum vitae or resume.
- A list of the names and contact information for three professional references.
- Work samples may be requested at a further stage of the process.
Salary:
Reflecting its experimental mission and commitment to non-hierarchical pedagogy, CalArts does not have a tenure-rank system but offers renewable multi-year contracts, a step-based faculty salary advancement plan (FSAP) and a merit program. Salary will be $65,000 to $80,000, commensurate with qualifications and experience. Compensation also includes full benefits and creative leave. For more information about FSAP and merit policy at CalArts:
https://calarts.edu/academics/office-of-the-provost/faculty-affairs/faculty-recruitment
Equity & Diversity
California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) seeks to employ faculty who can engage our diverse communities of learners at the highest levels of artistic endeavor and critical thinking. Across the range of practitioners from artists to scholars and librarians, we welcome candidates who possess a demonstrated worldview and cultural competency to support teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students of varied backgrounds, capabilities, perspectives, social identities and gender expressions. CalArts is an equal opportunity employer.
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement
California Institute of the Arts shall abide by the requirements of 41 CFR §§ 60-1.4(a), 60-300.5(a) and 60-741.5(a). These regulations prohibit discrimination against qualified individuals based on their status as protected veterans or individuals with disabilities, and prohibit discrimination against all individuals based on their race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Moreover, these regulations require that covered prime contractors and subcontractors take affirmative action to employ and advance in employment individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, protected veteran status, disability, or any other status protected under federal, state, or local law.
Further Information
About CalArts School of Theater:
Dedicated to the development of new voices and new forms, the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) School of Theater is one of the preeminent theater training programs in the country. Our goal is to educate the whole person, preparing fully equipped theater artists to enter and transform the world. We particularly encourage our students to build professional experiences and relationships while in school, mining every opportunity for them to create effective careers after graduation. The CalArts Center for New Performance, the Institute’s professional producing arm, embodies our firm commitment to open exactly such possibilities for talented, ambitious students. Our educational mission is to forge a community of citizen artists who are rigorously trained in their respective métiers and who are able to work effectively and innovatively across a broad spectrum of artistic settings, media, and technologies. We are committed to building and sustaining a diverse, inclusive, and equitable teaching and learning environment.
CalArts has a multidisciplinary approach to its studies of the arts through six schools: Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music and Theater. CalArts encourages students to explore and recognize the complexity of the many aspects of the arts. It is supported by a distinguished faculty of practicing artists and provides its Bachelor and Master of Fine Arts students with the hands-on training and exposure necessary for an artist's growth. CalArts was founded in 1961 and opened in 1969 as the first institution of higher learning in the United States specifically for students interested in the pursuit of degrees in all areas of visual and performing arts.