National Artist Teacher Fellowship Recipients

For a full list of Surdna Artist Teacher Fellowships, 2004-2012, Click Here!

Round 15 Fellows, 2015

Missy Burmeister – Theater, The Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, Hartford, CT

Fellowship: To explore the creation of original devised theater through attending Double Edge Theatre Company’s eleven-day Summer Intensive in Ashfield Massachusetts, which focuses on physical training, improvisation, research, site-specific work, dramaturgy and design.

Richard Paul Davis – Theater, The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Houston, TX

Fellowship: To immerse himself in the world of theatrical design by attending workshops, symposia, and street performances at the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space.

Karen Dow – Visual Arts, Aces Educational Center for the Arts, New Haven, CT 

Fellowship: To work with Master Printmaker, Christopher Shore, at the Norwalk Center for Contemporary Printmaking in order to create a new series of prints for exhibition.

Sarah Fitzgerald – Music, Charleston School of the Arts, Charleston, SC

Fellowship: To study with mentor Dr. Bill Manaris at the College of Charleston and create compositions using the computer programming language Python as well as attend the National Science Foundation Computing in the Arts Workshop.

Elizabeth Flaisig – Creative Writing, Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, Jacksonville, FL

Fellowship: To attend the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop in Fiction, work with an expert to tour the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, and devote time to writing, to gain a deeper understanding of WWII’s lasting impact and more authentically incorporate it into her work.

Robbin Gordon-Cartier – Music, Cicely Tyson School of Performing and Fine Arts, East Orange, NJ

Fellowship: To study with Deborah Henson-Conant in her mentorship program “Harness Your Muse”, to increase her technique, repertoire, and creative voice, specifically on the lever harp.

Stephanie Lucas – Film and Video, Metropolitan Arts Institute, Phoenix, AZ

Fellowship: To travel to New York City and work towards the completion of a 45-60 minute documentary with the guidance of veteran film and television editor, Sandrine Isambert.

Chandra McCloud – Dance, Northwest School of the Arts, Charlotte, NC

Fellowship: To experience an increase of knowledge, and renewal of creativity through attendance of the American Dance Festival in Durham, NC and The Horton Teachers Workshop in New York City, NY with teachers Brenda Daniels, T. Lang, and Ana Marie Forsythe.

Adam McKinney – Dance, New Mexico School for the Arts, Santa Fe, NM

Fellowship: To research, develop, and show a new solo work of dance and technology entitled BORDER. To revitalize both his creative voice and commitment to using dance as a tool for social action.

Alexis Monroe – Visual Arts, Sisseton Middle School, Sisseton, SD

Fellowship: To attend the plein air painting workshop Arts Sojourn in Venice and Tuscany with renowned painter Matthew Daub, to build and exhibit a body of work and enhance community involvement with the Visual Arts.

Cynthia Morales – Dance, San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts, San Diego, CA

Fellowship: To work with and attend workshops by mentor Jim May, Artistic Director of the Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble. To deepen her knowledge of how to create and produce profound dance theatre art that is multi-faceted/multi-disciplinary and integrates classic techniques with a progressive approach.

David Rhyne – Music, South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, Greenville, SC

Fellowship: To attend the 2015 Leipzig Bachfest in Leipzig Germany and participate in rehearsals with two prominent musicians in the Leipzig churches: Georg Christoph Biller and Jurgen Wolf.

Daniel Salazar Jr –Music, The Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, Hartford, CT

Fellowship: To attend the Cordoba International Guitar Festival in Spain to experience intense immersion and study Classical guitar, Flamenco guitar performance, and music composition; with coaching from eminent guitarist/composer Roland Dyens and distinguished Classical and Flamenco artists.

Jenna Temkin – Theater, Chute Middle School, Evanston, IL

Fellowship: To travel to Northern Ireland and London to work alongside the noted Theatre of the Oppressed company: The Cardboard Citizens, to examine their work highlighting and resolving community based issues with the regional homeless population in London.

Maura Tighe – Theater, Boston Arts Academy, Boston, MA

Fellowship: To train rigorously with Sarah Hickler, a certified Action Theatre instructor at the Action Theatre Workshop Retreat in Koufonisi, Greece.

Joni Weisfeld – Theatre/Directing, The Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, Hartford, CT

Fellowship: To attend a two week workshop led by Thomas Prattki on LeCoq based movement and creative process in Berlin Germany, and gain artistic rejuvenation through attending progressive and innovative international theatre.

Round 14 Fellows, 2014

Kathleen Irene Bawel –

Music, Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School, St. Petersburg, FL Fellowship: To attend the Rome International Choral Festival, studying conducting and composition under Z. Randall Stroope, resulting in an original choral composition to be performed in the US.

Michael Berry-Berlinski – 

Theater,Oakland School for the Arts, Oakland, CA Fellowship: To study with the Solar Bear Theater Company and The Royale Conservatoire of Scotland to learn about possible influences and impacts of Visual/Deaf Theater as it pertains to training of hearing actors in mainstream theatre practices.

Tamara Conrad –

Visual Arts, Northwest School of the Arts, Charlotte, NC Fellowship:To develop technical knowledge and create new ceramic artwork through “Porcelain without Borders,” led by Susan Filley and Leah Leitson at Penland School of Crafts.

Stephanie Dorian –

Theater, Orange County School of the Arts, Santa Ana, CA Fellowship: To develop and perform in a play, inspired by a profoundly personal life experience, that explores the connection of acting and empathy under the mentorship of acclaimed actress and playwright, Anna Deavere Smith.

Paul Ferraris –

Directing/Visual Arts, City Arts and Technology High School, San Francisco, CA Fellowship:To work with Elizabeth Pepin to create a biographical documentary about Mayra Aguilar, a teacher and surfer who is breaking the molds of her small Baja peninsula town.

Shawn Hann –

Theatre/Directing, Denver School of the Arts, Denver, CO Fellowship:To train with the 15^th Annual La Ma Ma International Symposium for Directors in Spoleto, Italy and grow as an artist by gaining new perspectives on socially engaged theatre, documentary style theatre, and theatre of the oppressed.

Lydia Horvath –

Visual Arts, Toledo School for the Arts, Toledo, OH Fellowship:To study at Ox Bow art school/artists’ colony and rent a visual arts studio in downtown Toledo for a year, in order to increase artistic output, evolve ideas and work towards incorporating cross-disciplinary work into her art.

Kimberly Jensen –

Visual Arts, City Arts and Technology High School, San Francisco, CA Fellowship:To study classical mosaic technique by attending two intensive courses at the Mosaic Art School in Ravenna, Italy, and gain artistic rejuvenation through a field trip to Nikki De Saint Phalle’s world-famous mosaic garden, “The Tarot Garden”.

Cava Menzies –

Music, Oakland School for the Arts, Oakland, CA Fellowship:To travel to New Orleans and study with jazz pianist and educator Victor Atkins III, jazz and gospel pianist/vocalist Matt Lemmer, and jazz history professor, Brent Rose; to immerse herself in the technique and history of jazz.

Lorie Miles –

Illustration, Photography, and Mixed Media, San Diego School of Creative & Performing Arts, San Diego, CA Fellowship:To attend a workshop taught by Mary Ellen Mark in New York City, and spend 7 additional days working independently to create a photojournalism series featuring contemporary figurative artist Hugo Crosthwaite.

Pamela Nomura –

Creative Writing, Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, Hartford, CT Fellowship:To study with mentors Diana Ferrus in Cape Town, South Africa, and Margaret Randall in Albuquerque, New Mexico to create a body of new work.

Michael Nowicki –

Theater, Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, Hartford, CT Fellowship: To explore new ways of devising original theater work by attending a training intensive in devised theater at Celebration Barn Theater in Maine, performances by the Punchdrunk Theater in New York City and create an original theatrical event at the historic Colt Firearms Factory in Hartford, Connecticut.

Raymond Parks –

Dance, Central Visual and Performing Arts High School, St. Louis, MO Fellowship:To study with Gerri Houlihan at the American Dance Festival and receive private coaching by St. Louis Elite Dance Company, in order to both expand his modern dance repertoire and choreograph new work.

Margaret Plaza –

Dance, Dr. Sun Yat Sen M.S. 131, New York City, NY Fellowship:To study jazz dance through its technique, stylistic expression, music, and history at the OffJazz International Summer Dance Workshop in Nice, France under the mentorship and tutelage of Mr. Gianin Loringett, artistic director and choreographer of OffJazz Dance Company, resulting in choreographing original Jazz and Cuban Jazz dance works of art that will be premiered in New York City.

Dexter Singleton –

Theater, Regional Center for the Arts, Trumbull, CT Fellowship:To study the arts of playwriting and development through participation in the Kenyon Playwrights Conference in Kenyon, OH, observing the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, OR, and developing current play Silver Bullet. 

Susan Tanner–

Theater, Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, Los Angeles, CA Fellowship:To revitalize her directorial vision by traveling to Vancouver, B.C and Ashland, Ore. to see inspiring, high quality theatre and do observer-ships at Bard on the Beach and Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Conceiving and directing a production that utilizes directorial concepts inspired by new perspectives on theater after meeting with artistic staff, attending lectures by directors and dramaturgs, dialoguing with designers and seeing performances in both locations.

Round 13 Fellows, 2013

Christopher Alloways-Ramsey –

Dance, Boston Arts Academy, Boston, MA Fellowship: To push range as a choreographer by working with experienced choreographer and mentor, Fernadina Chan, to create a piece that will address questions of aging and the performing artist.

Tanya Bennett –

Instrumental Music (Cello), Marvin L. Winans Academy of Performing Arts, Detroit, MI Fellowship: To learn the latest techniques in string improvisation by attending Mark O’Connor’s Summer String Program at Berklee School of Music in Boston, MA, and taking private cello improvisation lessons with Matt Turner and Dr. Martin Norgaard at Georgia State University.

Vasil Chekarzhikov –

Instrumental Music (Guitar), Orange County School of the Arts, Santa Ana, CA Fellowship: To develop creativity and artistry by studying with preeminent classical guitarist George Vassilev in Switzerland and prepare repertoire for two upcoming competitions.

Matt Christenson –

Visual Arts, City Arts and Technology High School, San Francisco, CA Fellowship: To take classes at Precita Eyes Mural Organization in San Francisco, interview the people in his neighborhood, and use their ideas and imagery to create a neighborhood mural.

Denise Davis –

Photography, Fairfax Magnet Center for Visual Arts, Los Angeles, CA Fellowship: To travel to Quebec, Canada to research the painted and sculptural devotional objects known as Ex-Votos, and to study with Karen Atkinson on ways to create modern Ex-Votos in photographic and installation media.

Ed Glassman –

Puppetry, Denver School of the Arts, Denver, CO Fellowship: To learn how to create a Punch and Judy puppet show by studying with puppeteer Chris Summerville at the Harlequin Puppet Theatre Rhos-on- Sea in the British Isles and attending the Puppeteers of America national festival in Philadelphia, PA.

Lois Hunter –

Theatre/Directing, Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, Los Angeles, CA Fellowship: To train with the Directors Lab North at the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto, Canada and develop as a stage director through workshops, rehearsals, investigations, shared work and master classes.

Teri Parker Lewis –

Theatre Performance, The Fine Arts Center, Greenville, SC Fellowship: To work with mentors Diane Venora and Jeffrey Fracé in Redding, CA and Seattle, OR and to visit the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Portland Center Stage & On the Boards, in order to develop new material, see professional theatre, and network with professional theatre artists.

Nicole Mathis-Berman –

Dance, Art Theater Entertainment School (ArTES), San Fernando, CA Fellowship: To participate in the Bates Dance Festival to further her artistic growth as a choreographer and dancer.

Blake Minnerly –

Music and Multi-Media Production, Media Arts Collaborative Charter School, Albuquerque, NM Fellowship: To attend the NYU/ASCAP film-scoring work-shop, a two week intensive training in orchestral composition for film, and compose an original soundtrack to a movie clip.

Greg Parente –

Theatre/Directing, Professional Performing Arts School, New York, NY Fellowship: To study Shakespeare at the British American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Oxford, England to enhance directing skills, and create a production for the Strain Theatre Company.

Sonia Plumb –

Dance, Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts, Hartford, CT Fellowship: To take a six-day intensive workshop (SUMAC-Studies in Movement and Choreography) with Susan Marshall and Company and create a new work to be set on Sonia Plumb Dance Company.

Donna Shank-Major –

Visual Art – 2D & 3D Design, Fine Arts Center, Greenville, SC Fellowship: To study with a master Italian bookbinder and paper marbler in Florence in order to conduct workshops and create/exhibit new work.

Dionne Smith –

Instrumental Music (Cello), Governor’s School for the Arts, Norfolk, VA Fellowship: To study cello with Julia Lichten, observe the Orpheus Chamber Ensemble’s rehearsals in New York City, and present a professional chamber orchestra performance in Norfolk, VA using the Orpheus Process as a rehearsal model.

Gina Bolles Sorensen –

Dance, Coronado School of the Arts, Coronado, CA Fellowship: To attend the Summer MELT Intensive 2013 at Movement Research in New York City and create a new evening-length dance work.

Kim Strassburger –

Drama/Theatre, Coronado School of the Arts, Coronado, CA Fellowship: To enroll at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) in the “Shakespeare and His Contemporaries” course.

Cynthia Sutton –

Choir, Guitar, Composition, Idaho Arts Charter School, Nampa, ID Fellowship: To attend the Cambridge Folk Festival, the Historically Informed Summer School and the U.K. Songwriting Workshop, and then create and record a folk opera of the story of Giselle.

Althea Thompson –

Visual Arts, School for Creative & Performing Arts, Cincinnati, OH Fellowship: To study warm glass fusing and hot glass casting with John Chapman and Beth Lipman at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, ME and generate a new body of artwork.

Patrick Williams –

Visual Arts, Orange County School of the Arts, Santa Ana, CA Fellowship: To study the methods of the contemporary graphic novel at the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, VT and create an original graphic novel.

Julie Zenobi –

Textile, Print, Sewing, Product Design, New Design High School, New York, NY Fellowship: To travel to India in order to study under master hand-block printers and create new work.

Round 12 Fellows, 2012

Jennifer Carr-

Creative Writing, Orange County High School of the Arts, Santa Ana, CA Fellowship: To attend the Sirenland Writers Workshop in Positano, Italy, in March 2012 to work on her second novel and to continue a professional mentorship with writer Tim Powers.

Catharine Cassell –

Visual Arts/ Metals, The Fine Arts Center, Greenville, SC Fellowship: To study in England in summer 2013 with master enamelists Elizabeth and Jessica Turrell, tour the rock art of prehistoric England, and create a new body of work.

John Colburn –

Creative Writing, Perpich Center for Arts Education, Golden Valley, MN Fellowship: To attend the August 2012 Fairytale Vanguard Conference in Belgium and complete a collection of stories.

Casey Curry –

Creative Writing, Howard W. Blake Magnet School of the Arts High School, Tampa, FL Fellowship: To work with mentor Patricia Gaines during a 2012 summer workshop towards the completion of her second novel.

Mary D’Avignon –

Theatre Design, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Dallas, TX Fellowship: To attend two textile design courses in London in summer 2012 and visit London museums.

Alexis Delbridge –

Visual Art/Fashion Illustration and Design, Art and Design High School, New York, NY Fellowship: To take courses in quilt-making in Paducah, KY in summer 2012 and create a body of work under the mentorship of Sandy Benjamin-Hannibal.

Barbara Greenbaum –

Creative Writing, Arts at the Capitol Theater, Willimantic, CT Fellowship: To attend a writing workshop at the University of Iowa Summer Writing Festival in summer 2012, work with mentor Suzanne Strempek Shea, and create a series of personal essays by visiting places where her mother once lived.

Dave Hammond –

Music, Denver School of the Arts, Denver, CO Fellowship: To attend the summer 2012 Veneto Jazz Camp and Veneto Jazz Festival in Italy.

Jessica  Krichels –

Visual Arts/Print-making, Media Arts Collaborative Charter High School, Albuquerque, NM Fellowship: To become a member of New Grounds Printmaking workshop, take a variety of classes, and work with mentor Adabel Allen.

Seungok Lee –

Music, Boston Arts Academy, Boston, MA Fellowship: To study jazz improvisation at StanfordUniversity’s Jazz Residency Program in summer 2012 and work with mentor Robert Christopherson to enhance her studies of early classical music.

Bridget Moore –

Dance, Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Dallas, TX Fellowship: To take dance classes in NYC in summer 2012, attend the Urban Bush Women’s Summer Leadership Institute at Tulane University, and create new choreographic work on the Dallas Black Dance Theater.

Kelly Mueller –

Visual Arts/Painting, Drawing, Lusher Charter School, New Orleans, LA Fellowship: To travel to Amazonia, Brazil and conduct independent study at the Natural Science Museum and Amazon Zoo and complete a series of mixed media paintings inspired by local tradition and social convention, as well as by the flora and fauna 

Pamela Plagge Isaac –

Dance, Brooklyn Center Arts and IB World School, Brooklyn, MN Fellowship: To attend the Dos Aguas program in AfroCuban dance in Cuba for 2 weeks in August 2012 and continue to study independently with professionals based in Cuba.

Jennifer Polins (2011 Fellow)–

Dance, Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter High School, South Hadley, MA Fellowship: To attend three intensive workshops in contact improvisation with Steve Paxton and Lisa Nelson at Earthdance and to create a new choreographic work.

Eric Ruffin –

Theatre, Duke Ellington School of the Arts, Washington DC Fellowship: To attend the 4-week Annual Symposium for Directors in Italy sponsored by La Mama Umbria in summer 2012.

Kimberly Scott –

Music, Alabama School of Fine Arts, Birmingham, AL Fellowship: To attend a one week intensive in summer 2012 at Hidden Valley Music Seminars with jazz flutist Ali Ryerson, and record a solo album of jazz music for flute, working with professional writers and producers.

Mary Scurlock –

Visual Arts/Painting, Sculpture, Center for the Arts at Henrico High School, Richmond, VA Fellowship: To attend La Muse writer and artist residency program in France in summer 2012, and take a variety of workshops at the Musee de Livre and Moulin de Papier.

Amy-Louise Sebelius –

Theatre, Orange County High School of the Arts, Santa Ana, CA Fellowship: To study mask-making and physical theatre at the Dell Arte School of Physical Theatre in CA in summer 2012.

Wendy Tobiska –

Theatre, Orange County High School of the Arts, Santa Ana, CA Fellowship: To engage in three months of private study with writer Clifford Bell (July-Sept 2012) to broaden cabaret production knowledge and to perform a live public cabaret performance.

Emily Trick –

Visual Arts/Painting, Sculpture, Stivers School for the Arts, Dayton, OH Fellowship: To attend a summer 2012 artists’ residency at Jentel Artists Residency (WY) and create work for a solo show in fall 2012.

Aleksandr Twarog-

Visual Arts/Painting, Sculpture, Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, New York, NY Fellowship: To study an old way of design drawing in Rome in summer 2012, work with mentor Alessandro Ayuso, and produce a series of elevation drawings and perspectives of classical structures and architectural details.