Teaching

Teaching Philosophy

As an educator, my goal has always been to enact agency within students through four guiding principles that focus on the dismantilization of hierarchy in the classroom. These principles are reimagining student/teacher relationships, empowering curiosity, building community, and fostering embodied voices that enable reflexive growth. Through these guiding principles, students achieve success inside and outside of the classroom, with an awareness to create collaborative environments in all of their personal and professional roles. 

To view my full teaching philosophy, click the tab below:

Teaching & Research Interests

·  Culturally-sustaining, anti-racist pedagogies for actor and movement training

·  Interdisciplinary, embodied performance practices for activating the actor

·  LGTQIA+ inclusive training methods

·  New play development through interdisciplinary pedagogies

·  Collaborative theatre making practices that generate ensemble-driven works

·  U.S. Latiné Theatre, Performance, and New Media

·  Contemporary business practices for cultivating the artists career

·  Bridging the gap between theatre-based actor training and acting on-camera

Teaching Experience 

Baldwin Wallace University, Visiting Assistant Professor of Acting, Department of Theatre

Intermediate Scene Study (Spring 2023)

Movement for the Actor 2 (Spring 2023)

Intro to Scene Study (Spring 2023)

Intro to Theatre (Spring 2023)

Advanced Scene Study (Fall 2022)

Acting on Camera (Fall 2022)

Business of Acting (Fall 2022)

Introduction to Acting (Fall 2022)

Eastern New Mexico University, Instructor of Theatre, Department of Theatre and Film

Beginning Acting (Fall 2021, Fall 2020 [Online])

Voice & Movement (Fall 2021)

Acting for Non-Majors (Fall 2020 [Online], Spring 2022)

Advanced Acting (Spring 2021)

Introduction to Theatre (Fall 2020) [Online/Asynchronous]

Acting for the Camera 1 (Spring 2021 [Online], Fall 2021)

Acting for the Camera 2 (Spring 2022)

Business of Show Business (Spring 2022)

Arizona State University, Graduate Teaching Assistant, School of Film, Dance, and Theatre

Acting 1: Fundamentals (Instructor of Record – Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019)

Acting Introduction [Non-Majors] (Instructor of Record – Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Spring 2020)

Acting 2:Meisner (Spring 2018)

Introduction to Stage Movement (Fall 2019)

Film: The Creative Process (Spring 2019)

Great Comedy Films (Fall 2017)

Sex and Violence in Film/TV (Fall 2019)

National High School Institute ('Cherubs' at Northwestern Uni.), Core Acting Faculty, Theatre Arts Division  

Acting Introduction (Summer 2019)

Viewpoints & Composition (Summer 2019)

Suzuki (Summer 2019)

Arizona Theatre Company, Tuscon/Phoenix, AZ , Teaching Artist

MyStory (StoryTelling) Residency at Globe High School (Spring 2019)

MyShakespeare Residency at Tempe Middle School (Spring 2019)

Student Evaluation Feedback Highlights

Baldwin Wallace University:

Introduction to Acting, Fall 2022 (7 week course):

"This was my favorite class this semester. I am not an actor in any way, shape, or form. I was terribly nervous to take this class. But Professor Quintana helped me every step of the way. He truly understands each individual as an individual and pushes us to try our best in each class! I am so upset that this is only a minimester, I loved this class!"

"This class was great for learning the fundamentals of acting. Ricky did a great job with curating a safe space for us to figure things out."

"Ricky is a super nice guy. This doesn't mean that he doesn't expect your best work though. He will give you constructive criticism on assignments or scenes that you are working on in order to help you. I wish that he taught another class that I could take; he's one of the best professors I have ever had."

"My instructor for this course was amazing. I appreciate the time and effort that my instructor put into this course to make it fun yet still educational regarding acting."

"He was a great instructor for this semester. No matter what it was he was very open to listening and give back solutions."

"As someone who is extremely shy, Ricky really made me feel so comfortable and gave great constructive criticism. He's one of my favorite professors and this class isn't even apart of my major."

Eastern New Mexico University:

“He has by far been one of the best theatre teachers that I have ever had. He does a great job of engaging with the students and subject matter of his class, offering great insight and thoughts towards acting.” Beginning Acting – FA2020

“To hold an acting class online was a challenge. But Ricky, adapted to the challenge and still accomplished his objectives for the class. He was honest in his criticism to try to make us better.” Acting for Non-Majors – FA2020

Arizona State University:

“His enthusiasm for the topic was obvious. He clearly cares a lot about making sure we succeeded, and he offered useful feedback after every assignment. The daily warmup sessions were also a great help.”  THF 101 - SP2020

“The routine warmup and power clap end to the class kept me going. I really enjoyed finding my space exercise and getting that click as a group.” THF101 – FA2019

“Ricky is a blast to take class from. He made this class comfortable and helped us with any questions along the way. All in all, he really showed care for the class.” THF101 – FA2019

“I think the professor's feedback on our work was very helpful in learning how we could improve in ways we hadn't thought about before.” THF101 – FA2019

“I found that Mr. Quintana was extremely engaging and always helpful! He made this class very enjoyable!” THF101 – FA2019

“I would keep it all the same because my teacher made it all interesting and engaging for all. I loved this class.” THP102 – SP2019

“I found the teachers exercises and games to be effective and how he related them to acting.” THP102 – SP2019

“Ricardo Quintana was a great theatre teacher. He was passionate about acting and really cared about his student's success. He was not rude or critical if someone messed up or their performance was sub-par, and I really respected that.” THF101 – FA2018

“Keep choosing bold topics that test peoples comforts zones, it helps people really get a deeper understanding of something that maybe they didn't before having to be in the character's shoes. Also the honest constructive feedback, you could feel that he was really paying attention and wanted to help you work through any areas you maybe struggled with.” THF101 – FA2018

“Ricky is an amazing teacher, he had great insight about the work we did and really kept everyone engaged for the entire class period. I feel like I know so much more than I did before this course, things I will apply to my future in film. I always felt like I could be myself in this class and he helped everyone get out of their comfort zones. Whether it was touching on deep topics or simply getting up in front of everyone he created a space where we all felt comfortable even when creatively challenged. This class really was one of the best parts of my semester, if I could I would take another class with him.” THF101 – FA2018

“He is very professional and extremely organized. He always had a clear idea on what we were doing every minute in class. He always explained the importance on everything we did.” THP102- FA2018

“Some things I found to be incredibly effective were the icebreakers and games we played at the start of the semester to learn everyone's names and become more open to moving in front of each other. I absolutely hate performing while others watch, but Ricky made the class atmosphere very welcoming and inviting, making each presentation much more comfortable (it didn't feel like the world was ending due to embarrassment if someone messed up). The daily warm-up and power clap also kept things lighthearted, yet structured. Another thing Ricky did that was totally awesome was that he always ensured we felt comfortable with the scenes and activities we did. For instance, he asked those of us that preferred not to have a scene with profanity or sexually-charged content (explicit stuff in general) to tell him so that he assigned a play that better fit our comfort-zone. A few friends that were in another THP 102 course had an instructor that did not easily allow students to approach him with concerns regarding their assigned scenes, and it completely turned them off to the class as a whole. Finally, while it was a pain to drag props to class at 9:00am, actually having something to hold/use was much more effective than miming, so I'm glad Ricky pushed us to do so.” THP102 – SP2018

“I found the instructors open and welcoming atmosphere was fantastic for this course. Many people in the class were not familiar with acting, which made the class intimidating, but Ricky did a great job of navigating this and making everyone feel welcomed.” THP102 – SP2018

“He always had wonderful exercises that effectively got his teaching points and acting strategies across. I felt that almost every single exercise we did was purposeful and helped me improve as a performer. Ricky was fun, kind, energetic, and had such a strong passion for performing that showed through to the class! I also loved how he asked us questions during attendance, it made me feel as if he was trying to get to know me. I loved Ricky!” THP102 – SP2018