Professor
Pictured in this photo are phonetic pillows, an innovative educational strategy by Louis Colaianni.
Deric McNish is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre at Michigan State University. He's the primary voice, speech, and dialects instructor in a thriving MFA and BFA acting program, where he has served as program director. Deric also teaches MSU's ESL students, as well as courses on Disability in Performance in the Integrated Arts and Humanities Program.
I teach primarily in our BFA and MFA Acting programs, offering courses in a variety of approaches to acting, voice, speech, and dialects. I've created courses for the Integrated Arts and Humanities program such as Disability in Performance, as well as courses for the English Language Center that use performance techniques to help MSU's International Students learn English language and American culture.
While earning my PhD and teaching at CU Boulder, I also earned a Certificate in College Teaching, where I learned a lot about inclusive pedagogy. I actively seek out new strategies to more effectively reach and challenge all of my students. I get to share my fascination with the scholarship of teaching and learning on a daily basis with my graduate students. The MFA we offer at MSU is unique in that we put equal weight on training actors and educators. As a mentor and advisory committee member for my graduate students, I enjoy the opportunity to be a part of a community that continuously explores more positive teaching practices.
New Courses
As an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre at Michigan State University since 2013, I've had the opportunity to create many new courses.
- American Performing Arts (ESL 093, fall 2014 - present): I created a unique ESL course using acting, voice, and speech activities as a way to enhance English language learning and cultural understanding among MSU's large population of international students. This exciting collaboration with the Carmela Romano Gillette and the English Language Center has been renewed for a second semester and is the source of a new area of research titled "The Performance of Fluency." Read this article for more information.
- Online Acting Course (fall 2014 - present): I'm currently collaborating on Rob Roznowski's project with Bob Matson .
- Disability in Performance (IAH 209, spring 2015): I created this course for MSU's Integrated Arts and Humanities program which builds upon my research area. This course explores representations of people with disabilities in film, television, and theatre, as a way to introduce the humanities to students across MSU's diverse campus.
- Voice I: Voice for the Actor (THR 202, fall 2013, 2014)
- Voice II: Acting with Accents and Phonetics (THR 402, spring 2013, 2014)
- Acting II: Approaches to Advanced Scene Study (THR 201, spring 2014)
- Senior Showcase (THR492, spring 2014, spring 2015): Produce and direct MSU's NYC Industry showcase for BFA and MFA actors.
Three new graduate courses for the MFA in Acting:
- Solo Performance (THR 801, spring 2015)
- Graduate Voice II: Acting with Accents and Phonetics (THR 804, fall 2013)
- Graduate Acting: The Psychophysical Approach (THR 801, fall 2013)
Other courses taught at Michigan State University:
- Acting I: Introduction to Acting (THR 201, fall 2014)
- Theatrical Play Analysis (THR 110, summer 2014, online)
- BFA Capstone (THR491, fall 2013, team-taught)
Courses taught at the University of Colorado Boulder:
- Development of the American Musical Theatre (THTR 3011, fall 2011, spring 2012, spring 2013)
- Acting I for Majors (THTR 2003, spring 2011, fall 2012)
- Acting for Non-Majors (THTR 1003, fall 2010)
Service Highlights
- Co-facilitator: Faculty Learning Community (FLC), fall 2014 - spring 2015: Creating a Collaboration Hub. With Rob Roznowski, received a grant from the Office Faculty and Organizational Development to create an FLC with the purpose of finding ways for researchers and creative artists at MSU to more effectively connect and collaborate.
- HASTAC: Conference Review Committee member, 2014.
- Michigan Educational Theatre Association, Saginaw Valley State University, MI, 2013, 2014. Judge for Thespian competitions and leader of several popular workshops, including "Acting with Accents," and "Be Like Johnny Depp - Acting with Imagination."
- College Curriculum Committee, College of Arts and Letters, Michigan State University, 2014-15.
- Various department committees, including several search committees, BFA Handbook Revision, Building Beautiful Committee, RPT and Annual Review Committee, Pay It Forward Committee, Undergraduate Affairs Committee, KCACTF Coordinator, and Director Hiring Advisory Committee.