Workshops

DIRECTING & Education

Jesca is currently Head of Directing at San Diego State University where she teaches courses in Directing, Acting, Movement Theatre, Devised Theatre, Documentary Theatre, and Site-Specific / Immersive Theatre. She is also a trained Intimacy Choreographer for theatre and film.

"I encourage my students to take risks every day. It’s harder to take risks when you have the artistic director breathing down your throat and they’re worried about reviews and selling tickets. I want SDSU to be a place where we can all take risks and it doesn’t mean we have to do something that’s always off the beaten path. Even within a Shakespeare or within a Chekhov, how can we make a leap? I personally don’t take on projects that aren’t difficult. School is the time to do the difficult and not fear failure. That’s where the real learning begins."
—Quote from "Jesca Prudencio Talks Teaching, Directing, and Taking Risks"

As Production Associate/Education Director at Ping Chong + Company from 2008-2013, Jesca took a vital role in program development and facilitation of the Undesirable Elements/Secret Histories education programs. She has led company workshops and training in documentary and devised theater at conferences and institutions across the U.S. and internationally. As the resident artist of the Philippine American Association of Central Pennsylvania, she has devised and directed original plays with her Filipino community.

Jesca is the inaugural recipient of The Julie Taymor World Theater Fellowship which supported her travels through Thailand, Japan, and The Philippines throughout 2017. Learn more about her travels here.

Workshops

Jesca has facilitated workshops and lectures at dozens of educational institutions across the United States and Asia including:

Columbia University
New York University
The New School, NYC
UC San Diego, CA
Network of Ensemble Theaters, CA
The Smithsonian w/ The White House's Asian American Pacific Islander Initiative, D.C.
University of the Philippines, Dilliman
Thammasat University, Thailand
Theatre Communications Group, Philadelphia, PA
United Nations International High School, NYC
City University of New York, NYC
The MS Foundation

Bring jesca to your community

Jesca is available for workshops in communities across the U.S. and internationally.

Possible workshop topics include:

Intimacy: Consent and Boundaries in Process
Testimony as a Trigger: A Documentary Theater Workshop
Physical Theater: The Body As a Language
Devised Theater: Ensemble Generated Work
Crafting Commedia: Living Through The Mask
Speech, Monologue, and Song Coaching

Inquire with her about how she can bring her work to your community! For more information on how you can bring Jesca to your community, contact Jesca's assistant at [email protected].

Previous WORKSHOP Highlights:

Collaborative Theater Practice: Ping Chong + Company & Interview -Based Theater at The New School for Drama, NYC
In partnership with Ping Chong + Company, Jesca lead a semester long course on Interview-based theater and documentary theater practices with BFA Theater Students at The New School for Drama. Students engaged in the Undesirable Elements form, while devising solo, duet, and group projects.
Testimony as a Trigger: A Documentary Theater Workshop at the University of the Philippines, Diliman and Democrazy Theatre Studio, in Bangkok, Thailand
Documentary Theater is a growing international theatrical form that uses real stories, interviews, and documentary materials to create a unique performance. Jesca Prudencio has written and directed documentary productions across the U.S. and has trained artists from around the world with Ping Chong + Company. For one weekend, she shared her own techniques on how artists can use testimony and interview as a trigger to create theater

Workshop Intensive: Body as a Language at the University of the Philippines, Diliman
Jesca was in residence at the Theater Department at University of the Philippines, Diliman where she gave a lecture for the department called Directing: A Biological Act and a 3 day physical theater workshop intensive called Theater: Body As A Language. The workshop involved undergraduate, masters, and PHD theater students, as well as selected alumni. It culminated in a showing of physical explorations of Francisco Bataglas' poem Florante at Laura, which she will be workshopping in Manila in the Fall of 2017.