Photo by Robert Nizza.
Since 1998 Suraya has worked as a Drama and Dance teacher in the public schools, providing drama and dance instruction for thousands of children and teenagers with such companies as Performing Arts Workshop, Vector Theatre Company and New Conservatory Theatre Company. She has also taught and directed theatre in youth summer camp programs run by the San Francisco Shakespeare Festival and Marin Shakespeare Company. Drawing from her background in psychology and Drama Therapy, Suraya has worked extensively with children and teens with special needs, including children with autism, youth with Asperger’s Syndrome, children with speech and language impairments, socially and emotionally disturbed children, and teenagers at risk of living lives of violence. In April 2004, Suraya began teaching theatre to men at a county jail in a unique violence reduction program sponsored by Community Works. In this program, called “Resolve to Stop the Violence,” theatre is employed as one of many tools that help men to examine the ways in which they have been conditioned to behave violently in the world, and to re-learn and practice new ways of being a “man” that transcend the stereotypical and often dangerous images of masculinity portrayed by some aspects of society.
Depending on needs of a the population she is working with, Suraya’s drama classes may be more process-oriented, thus emphasizing basic skills of communication, observation, self-expression, utilizing the body and voice, character development and teamwork. In other classes, the same basic skills are taught, but these skills are then applied in the rehearsal and performance of a play that is derived either from a pre-existing script or from an original script that Suraya co-writes with her students. Regardless of whether the class is more process-oriented or product-oriented, Suraya believes in the importance of creating a safe and playful environment, one in which students are encouraged to express themselves fully and to take creative risks.
Suraya holds a similar value in the dance classes that she teaches, which often begin with an exploration of movement polarities such as high/low, heavy/light, staionary/locomotor, slow/quick, fluid/staccato, and tension/relaxation. After providing students with ample practice in movement polarities, Suraya then incorporates techniques from dance composition with the aim of having students choreograph and perform their own dances. In her dance teaching, Suraya has also incorporated dance and movement rituals she has learned in her travels throughout the world, introducing youth to various world dances from Latin America, Africa, Asia and Europe.
Whether teaching drama or dance, Suraya holds as a great value in teaching the importance of creating an environment in which students feel comfortable taking creative risks. By risking the unknown and welcoming “failure” as a gift, each student can access and express their unlimited creative power within.
As any good teacher knows
we teach what we need to learn
and we remain forever students of life.