Moderator: Jonathan P. Jones
Panelists: Ashley Buster, Jefferson Russell, Wyckham Avery, Fatima Quander

What has this year taught us? This panel will explore lessons learned while teaching theatre during the pandemic. Additionally, the panelists will discuss what elements they hope to retain moving into a new school year and beyond. The panel features four different artist-educators who teach in a variety of contexts in and around Washington, D.C. Join us in the dialogue!

Jonathan P. Jones, PhD, is an advisor, faculty member, and coordinator of doctoral studies at NYU Steinhardt Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions for the Program in Educational Theatre. At NYU, he teaches courses in pedagogy and theatre history; at CUNY, he teaches courses in public speaking and theatre history. Jonathan has presented on theatre education, research, creativity, and pedagogy in the US, UK, China, and Iraq. He serves as editor for ArtsPraxis, a journal emphasizing critical analysis of the arts in society and is on the board of AATE.

Ashley D. Buster (AEA) is an arts educator and actor native to the DC metro region. She has been seen on national staged as well as several local stages including Ford’s, Signature and Avant Bard. She has also performed internationally with the New York Harlem singer and Royal Caribbean International. Ashley is/has been a teaching artist and classroom teacher throughout the DC area. She is currently the School Programs Manager at Shakespeare Theatre Company and a Ford’s Theatre Associate Artist.

Fatima Quander’s (AEA/SAG-AFTRA) credits include: FRESHH Inc. Theatre Company, DC Hip Hop Theatre Festival, Rep Stage, Everyman Theatre, Baltimore Center Stage Education, Theater of the First Amendment, Folger Elizabethan Theatre, Imagination Stage, and Discovery Theater; she has also performed in house and on tour with The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Fatima served as a Senior Adjunct Instructor at Howard Community College for 8 years and will soon join the theatre faculty at The University of Maryland, College Park. She also teaches at University of Maryland, Baltimore County and works as a teaching artist with a number of programs throughout the DC area including FRESHH Inc.’s Griot Girls, Everyman Theatre, Poetry Out Loud, Folger Shakespeare Library’s McKee Fellows and Secondary School Shakespeare Festival, Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, Sitar Arts Center, Jr. Discovery at Georgetown University, and Young Playwrights’ Theater. A native Washingtonian, she received her MFA from Actors Studio Drama School in NYC and her BA from Beloit College in Wisconsin.

Wyckham Avery is a playwright. Avery has created many shows for young audiences including The Amazing Adventures of Ariana Astronaut, My Hero, and Goblin Secrets, in addition to two solo performances, Cordelia’s Fool and Sing Me A Song. In her twenty-year career, Avery has been a teaching artist, an artist-in-residence, an adjunct professor, a high school theatre and English teacher, and a theatre camp director. Avery co-created a upstart company, dog & pony dc—a theatre collective that devises new work with a focus on incorporating the audience in new ways, in addition to working with numerous theatre companies across the United States. Avery received an MFA in Acting from The Catholic University of America and trained at the Dell’ Arte International School of Physical Theatre.

Jefferson A. Russell is a Resident Company Member with Everyman Theatre in Baltimore. Regional credits include appearances at American Players Theatre (WI), Milwaukee Rep, Baltimore Center Stage, Cincinnati Playhouse, Ford’s Theatre (DC), Pioneer Theatre (UT), Marin Theatre Company (CA), Dallas Theatre Center, The Goodman Theatre (IL), Hangar Theatre (NY), Round House Theatre (MD), Woolly Mammoth (DC), African Continuum Theatre Company (DC), Rep Stage (MD), Arena Players (Baltimore), Folger Shakespeare (DC), Shakespeare Theatre Company (DC), Gulfshore Playhouse (FL), NC Shakespeare Festival and Kennedy Center National tours. He is a graduate of Hampton University (BA/Sociology-Criminal Justice) and George Washington University (MFA/Academy of Classical Acting). Jefferson is a former Baltimore police officer and Md State Juvenile Probation Officer, a voice artist with credits including the NPR/WBUR podcast of folktales, Circle Round and a founding member of GALVANIZE, a network for artists of color.