Professor Rachel DeSoto-Jackson's innovative work in applied theater was mentioned in a national article in American Theatre.
In her article, “The Zoom Where It Happens,” author Allison Considine writes, “Rachel DeSoto-Jackson, a professor of applied theatre at the [sic] Indiana University of Pennsylvania, teaches an acting course in partnership with the school's nursing department that creates live simulations with interdisciplinary students from across healthcare and diverse fields.”
“‘As you might imagine, the shift to online learning has been challenging in trying to maintain the learning standards for this live performance interaction,' said DeSoto-Jackson in an email. ‘However, this has been an opportunity to shift the pedagogy toward the growing emergence of Telehealth. This is a trend right now in healthcare, and often nurses and doctors are unprepared for communicating empathy via a virtual screen.'
“Through Zoom, DeSoto-Jackson will be training her acting students how to perform virtual simulations that mimic Telehealth scenarios.”
Considine's article shares many approaches that educators are using to move theater courses online in this time of pandemic.
American Theatre is a publication of the Theatre Communications Group and reports on America's national theater, the aggregation of nonprofit theaters across all 50 states.