Richard Gremel
Richard Gremel began his journey into the education profession by attending the University of Arizona where he earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Education in May 2008. He then received his Secondary Education Teaching certificate with a Fine Arts Endorsement in Theatre. He is further pursuing a Master’s Degree in Career and Technical Education from Concordia University-Portland with anticipated graduation in August 2016.
Mr. Gremel accepted his first teaching job at Empire High School in 2008 where he has been teaching acting, stagecraft, CTE Technical Theatre, and driver’s education ever since. Mr. Gremel’s goal as a teacher is to prepare students to be successful in performance and production by creating a strong sense of community within his classes. His students are held to high expectations maintaining a level of professionalism on stage and in the classroom. And, he uses the production process to provide a real-world experience for his students reminding them that they are not part of high school theatre program, but rather they are professionals who just happen to perform at a high school. And, for the past six years, Mr. Gremel has teamed up with Mesquite Elementary School to provide a collaboration opportunity to promote literacy. The K-5 grade students at Mesquite write stories and poems that Gremel’s students adapt into small scenes and perform for the students at Mesquite. Student involvement is tremendous at both sites.
When Mr. Gremel is not in his classroom or theatre at Empire, he is busy serving as the sponsor for the Thespian Troupe and the Drama Club at the school. He can also be found teaching theatre for other arts organizations in Tucson. He has been an instructor for Live Theatre Workshop’s summer program for the past nine years where he teaches acting, singing, and choreography to students ranging from 1st through 12th grade. He also teaches “Behind the Scenes” workshops, which involve teaching theatrical concepts that correlate with a Broadway in Tucson production for Arts Express. Mr. Gremel is also a published playwright, an actor, director, and scenic and lighting designer. His dedication to his art and to his students is a standard few teachers ever achieve.
.
