The birth of a course

In the spring of 2006, I decided to teach a course that would merge my passion for theatre with my love of Hip Hop. What resulted was a big, fun, messy, exciting, class full of all types of students with varying levels of performance ability & knowledge of Hip Hop. The class was over 30 students large with 2 assistant teachers. Can you say organized chaos?! The class did things like performing Hip Hop in a chapel, rehearsing group projects outside, rockin' open mic shows and learning what it express oneself.

In 2007 we were back at it again. This time around the class was smaller in size - 20 students deep. This time around class assignments were more refined and the academic study of Hip Hop was more integral to the class. Like the first class, students kicked their final performances before a packed audience in the Diamond Theater at Lehigh. Students also performed off campus at local open mic events and went to see regionally produced Hip Hop Theater shows like The Seven & No Child among others.

It's 2009 and were gonna give this thing another whirl. This time around students have auditioned and interviewed to be in the class. We are 20 deep and ready to see how we can do it bigger & better than before.