Meet Eve Krueger, the Masters level 2022 Graduate Student Teaching Award recipient and MFA student studying Acting for the Returning Professional.
Please give a short overview of your research, scholarship or creative successes:
I am an MFA candidate in the School of Theatre and Dance's Acting for the Returning Professional program. Here at KSU I am refining my skills as an actor while gaining experience teaching in a university setting. I am a professional actor and improviser and have worked with many scripted and improv theatres in Atlanta and Chicago, and occasionally I end up on-camera, too. My practice as a performer has always been a combination of scripted and improvised work and I have continued exploring how those fields interact with and can enhance each other. Since entering this program, I have fully embraced consent-forward artistic practices as a way of consciously creating equitable and accessible creative spaces for my students and fellow artists.
What made you choose to pursue your graduate degree here at Kent State?
There's a pretty big gap between when I got my BA and when I entered this program. I had considered grad school many times in the past as a way to enter academia, but wasn't interested in a program that focused solely on performance or direction or literature and criticism. Kent's program is unique because it emphasizes performance, but is very much geared towards creating teaching artists who are able to work in a college or university setting, which is the skill set that I was looking for in an MFA program.
What do you enjoy most about attending Kent State for graduate school?
Learning new techniques, refining old techniques. Questioning my own practice and figuring out the best way to reach any student I may have in my class in the future.
What are your future goals?
I'm applying for teaching jobs during this, my last semester at Kent, and would like to have one lined up when I graduate. I'd also like to continue to pursue performance opportunities. Currently I am working with two of my former employers - The Second City in Chicago, IL and Dad's Garage Theatre Company in Atlanta, GA - to bring consent-forward practices to improv-based comedy theatres. In the future I hope to write a book about using consent-forward practices in comedy theatres as a way to create more equitable creative spaces.
What did this award mean to you and how has it aided you?
Honestly, I didn't expect to win this award. After I submitted the materials I completely forgot about it. So, if nothing else it was a huge surprise! But it has been gratifying to win - it makes me feel like I'm on the right track. And hopefully it will also make me an appealing candidate for the jobs I'm applying for.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
Ah yes, free time...I remember that. I like to cook and I really, really like to bake. I've also (finally) figured out that making time to be physically active is really good for my mental health. When my brain isn't totally overloaded I love to pleasure read. I like watching arty movies and short-form documentaries and listening to music a lot, too. I have also (unsuccessfully) been trying to teach myself to play guitar for an embarrassing amount of time.