HIGHER EDUCATION TEACHING EXPERIENCE
From 2019-2021, Francesca Mintowt-Czyz was the Director of Theatre at Western Nebraska Community College. She taught Introduction to Theatre, Acting, Movement, Voice for the Actor, Scripts in Production, Technical Production, Stage Makeup, and Jazz. Mintowt-Czyz produced, directed, and designed four productions each academic year, with an emphasis on new work. One of the most exciting projects involved working with playwright Therese Ramstedt. Ramstedt was a guest artist for the spring semester playwriting course, and through the second half of the semester, Ramstedt and the students developed an original play called ‘Riptides’, a story about a young adolescent with ADHD which is manifested in the form of “Sea Bitches”. The world premiere of this script was produced in fall of 2020. As someone who is committed to introducing unique and diverse art forms to both students and community, Mintowt-Czyz invited a team of Drag performers to act as guest artists for the stage makeup course. A panel was held in which students, faculty, and staff were able to ask questions about the art of Drag as well as the LGBTQIA+ community, which was followed by a performance. As a result of this experience, a group of students formed the first LGBTQIA+ Student Organization in the history of the college: Cougar Pride.
Prior to her employ at WNCC, Mintowt-Czyz was an actor and instructor based in London, England. She worked as a guest lecturer, director, and choreographer for multiple schools through the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama including Rambert School of Ballet and Modern Dance, the National Center for Circus Arts, Bristol Old Vic, and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. After returning to the United States in 2018, she began leading workshops in musical theatre, physical theatre, devising, and auditioning. In Salt Lake City, UT, Mintowt-Czyz was invited to be the Assistant Director and Movement Specialist at Salt Lake Community College on a production of ‘The Love For Three Oranges’, where she blended Commedia dell’arte and clowning to create a dynamic interpretation of this classic tale. In 2019 Mintowt-Czyz produced her first original physical theatre piece entitled ‘On This Eve’. This was a devised piece starring two of her students, Tyler Fox and Whitney Black.
Francesca Mintowt-Czyz began earning her dual-MFA in Performance and Production Design from the Savannah College of Art and Design in the fall of 2021, and remains active as an arts educator. In her first year alone, she directed three productions, including 'Lungs' by Duncan Macmillan, 'Pochsy's Lips' by Karen Hines, and William Shakespeare's 'Much Ado About Nothing’. In addition, she performed as Marie-Antoinette in 'The Revolutionists', ensemble in 'All Shook Up', and Mrs. Jennings in the SCAD production of 'Sense and Sensibility', where she was also the assistant director, choreographer and dialect coach.
