Madison D.
Wilken

K-12 Theatre Educator

HELLO

My name is Madison D. Wilken

I was born and raised on Long Island, New York, and moved to Fort Mill, South Carolina in the summer of 2016. I earned my Associate Degree in Applied Science; majoring in Teleproduction from York Technical College in 2019 & B.A of Arts in Theatre with a K-12 Certification from Winthrop University. I have done many philanthropy events around my community through the various honor societies I have been apart of. Being a member of South Carolina Education Association, and Palmetto State Teacher Association has helped me open my horizons of what it is to be an effective educator. I have many hobbies but the one I am most passionate about is photography. No matter where I am I will bring my camera to capture the candid beauty around me when I travel. My favorite places to go are Florida, Georgia, and New York.

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

“I regard the theatre as the greatest form of all art forms, the most intermediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.”

- Oscar Wilde

The theatre community is always open, to everyone who stands in this world and is a safe place for students to be creative, and outgoing. A place where anyone's voice can be heard, as well as a place of expression for those who may have never had the opportunity to express themselves. The above quote, to me, introduces the many learning opportunities and life-long skills students will learn from my theatre class and how they will be advantageous in the world after graduating.

The many social interactions students will have with each other will advance their public speaking skills. While being introduced to an array of theatre job opportunities in class, this will give them the opportunity to explore the different roles in a production. This will give the students a variety of well rounded skills to be used in all areas of their life. Productions in the classroom and after school are student-run productions, meaning that students will be acting, singing, dancing, building, painting, lighting, managing, and more under my supervision and with guidance.

What is most important to me as a teacher is for my students to be creative. To get them and keep them excited to be in my classroom creating something they are passionate about is all I could hope for my students. I want them to come in with a clear mind and a passionate drive; whether that be analyzing a script, doing monologues, or writing their own plays. My classroom environment will be that safe place where students can be themselves without judgment from others.