Karen Baker
Educational Theatre Consultant
Spirit Productions
PO Box 816
Cedar Hill, TX 75104
CAREER SUMMARY:
25 Years Teaching Experience as Theatre/Speech Teacher and Director
Courses taught: Theatre I, II III, IV; Technical Theatre/Stagecraft; Competitive
Speech/Interpretation; Middle School Speech; English
Extensive Play Directing Experience:
Over 90 productions: Dramas, Comedies, Musicals, Children's Shows,
Proscenium, Arena, Thrust, Environmental Staging
Contest Play Specialist:
2 Texas State Championships, 2 Runners-up
7 Oklahoma State Championships , 2 Runners-up
Forensic Events Specialist: (Duet Acting, Oral Interpretation, Speech)
30+ Individual Events State Champions
22 NFL National Qualifiers
National Oratory Champion
Experience in Curriculum Development:
Texas: Clear Creek ISD, Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD, Putnam City Schools
Contest One Act Play Clinician and Critic Judge
Actor/Director in Regional and Community Theatre
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS:
National Forensic League (Diamond Key Coach)
International Thespian Society
Southwest Theatre Association
Texas Educational Theatre Association
Texas Speech Communication Association
Texas Forensics Association (Former Chair--Professional Ethics Committee)
Oklahoma Community Theatre Association
Oklahoma High School Speech/Drama Advisory Board (5 years)
HB 1706 OK (committee for revision of teacher certification procedures)
Oklahoma Alliance for Arts Education: Youth Arts Committee
Kappa Delta Pi
Outstanding Young Women of America
Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities
American Association of University Women
WORKSHOPS and CLASSES CONDUCTED:
UIL Capital Conference U TX at Austin
Interp/Forensics Workshop Green County HS (MS)
Interp/Forensics Workshop Hudson HS (OH)
Interp/Forensics Workshop Carrollton HS (OH)
Interp/Forensics Workshop Logan HS (CA)
Summer Theatre Institute Texas Tech University
Summer Theatre Institute University of Oklahoma
Preparing The UIL Play UIL Super Conference
Contest Events Institute University of Oklahoma
Creative Rehearsal Techniques Texas Educational Theater Association
Creative Rehearsal Techniques Texas Speech Communication Association
Acting In Community Theatre Residency, Oklahoma State Arts Council
Acting Retreat Roman Nose Lodge
Contest Events Institute Central State University, Edmond, OK
Contest Events Institute Cameron University, Lawton, Oklahoma
Staging The High School Play Southwest Theatre Conference
Selling Community Theatre Southwest Theatre Conference
Directing the Contest Play OK Educational Association Convention
Improvisation and Ensemble Oklahoma Theatre Center
Developing the HS Drama Curriculum OK Theatre Educators' Association
EMPLOYMENT:
2001-Present: Owner, Spirit Productions, educational theatre consulting firm.
Point. Click. Teach. Curriculum Materials on CD ROM
The Cutting Edge Scripts for competition
Wandering Workshops
1995-2001: Theatre Teacher/Director, Martin High School, Arlington, TX
Courses Taught: Theatre I, II, III, IV
Co-directed 5A UIL State Championship Plays in 1996 and 1998
1993-1995: Theatre Teacher, Duncanville Ninth Grade School, Duncanville, TX
1992-1993: Theatre Teacher/Director, Trinity High School, Euless, TX
1991-1992: Graduate Studies/MFA Acting, University of North Carolina/Greensboro
1986-1991: Theatre Teacher/Director, Clear Lake High School, Houston, TX
Courses Taught: Theatre II, III, IV; Technical Theatre
Coordinator for Three Teacher Department
Supervision of Extensive Production Season (5 Mainstage/6-8 Studio)
Directed UIL Contest Plays Advancing to State Meet 1989, 1990, 1991
Coached State Champion Duet Acting Teams in 1989, 1990
Coached 11 Students to NFL National Tournament
Coached State Prose and Poetry Winners in 1989, 1990, 1991
Managed 3 Forensic Tournaments (1000 Students Each)
Managed 2 One-Act Play Meets
1978-1986: Director of Theatre, Putnam City High School, Oklahoma City, OK
Courses Taught: Drama I, II, III; Competitive Speech, English III
Director and Technical Director for 31 Productions
High School Play Competition: State Champions, 6 Years
Speech and Drama State Team Sweepstakes: Champions, 5 Years
Coached Numerous Students to NFL Nationals, 8 Years
Coached Several State Champions in each Drama/Interpretation Event
Managed 9 Forensic Tournaments (400-600 Contestants Each)
Managed 6 Play Contests
OKC Full-Length Play Festival Winner, 2 Years
1976-1978: Speech and English Teacher, Mustang Middle School, Mustang, OK
1975-1976: Speech Teacher, Western Oaks Junior High, Oklahoma City, OK
EDUCATION:
1991: University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Graduate Studies, MFA/Acting
1975: Southeastern State University, Durant, Oklahoma
B.A. in Education: Speech / Theatre and English (Double Major)
Top Graduate/Magna Cum Laude
Outstanding Theatre Major, Outstanding English Major
Coached Oklahoma and Texas State and NFL District Champions:
Duet Acting: The Exercise; Ordinary People; Night, Mother; Breeze from the Gulf; Terra Nova; Strange Snow; Home Front; Voice of the Prairie; Don Brown’s Body; How to Eat Like a Child; Greater Tuna; The Real Inspector Hound
Dramatic Interp: Ladies at the Alamo, A Delicate Balance, Come Back to the Five and Dime...; ‘Night Mother; Painting Churches; Savage in Limbo; Lillian
Humorous Interp: Madwoman of Chaillot; Norman Conquests; Waiting in the Wings; Greater Tuna; America Hurrah; Miss Firecracker Contest; Love’s Reckless Rash
Poetry Interp: 5 state champions
Prose Interp: 3 state champions
Oratory: Coached the NFL national champion--“Eastern Standards”
State One Act Play Champions: (Oklahoma) Vanities; The Shadow Box; The Children’s Hour; The Diviners; The Little Foxes; Picnic and (Texas) Our Country’s Good; A View from the Bridge.
State Runners Up: The Rimers of Eldritch; Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; The Rivers and Ravines
Spirit Productions’ scripts have proven successful in the hands of students around the country. Some of our cuttings performed by champions in 2003 include:
Oklahoma Dramatic Duet State Champions Home Front
Texas Duet Acting State Champions Dylan
NFL National Dramatic Interpretation Champion Life is so Good
Ohio State Second Place, Duet Acting The Voice of the Prairie