Employee spotlight: Dawson Moore
by Vicki Heisser |
We recently caught up with Dawson Moore, who now lives in Anchorage but was in Valdez
this weekend to co-host the Advocates for Victims of Violence's (AVV) fundraiser,
Women of Distinction, alongside PWSC adjunct instructor Gianna Giusti.
Dawson shared, "It's a fantastic event supporting an organization I was deeply involved
with in Valdez, where I served on the AVV board for 14 years. Even though I no longer
live here, I still work for the college running the Valdez Theater Conference, so
I welcome any opportunity to return."
This year was particularly meaningful for him, as all the nominees are close friends.
He mentioned, "Sharon was the mayor while I was on the City Council, and I have immense
respect for Teresa and her work for the college. Kyra has acted in my plays, and Bernie
is a friend and a coworker. Keriann began attending the theater conference 12 years
ago. After volunteering for several years, I hired her as the front desk manager,
recognizing her dedication and exceptional customer service, which attendees greatly
appreciated. They're all awesome."
This fall, Dawson is teaching PWSC's Contemporary Theater class. The class focuses
on current plays while discussing theater history for context. Most of his students
are dual-credit high schoolers looking to satisfy general education requirements.
They explore theater from its beginnings, examining various styles and plays.
"My goal is to help them appreciate theater as a part of human history. Ideally, I
want them to think, 'Let's go see a play' on a free weekend. I want them to understand
this art form."
The class engages in extensive play reading and analysis. They read plays and incorporate
some light performance elements. For example, today, Dawson is introducing them to
playwriting. While this isn't a dedicated playwriting course, he wants them to experience
crafting a piece and exploring self-expression.
Dawson wants to broaden young minds, encouraging critical and creative thought rather
than rote memorization about theater. With 40 years in theater, Dawson reflects that
he hasn't needed most of what he learned in similar classes as a kid. Instead, these
classes should be about learning how to learn and discovering their place in the world.
He has truly enjoyed this class; it's one of his favorites after nearly a decade of
teaching.
When asked about the Valdez Theatre Conference 2025, Dawson shared, "It's a bit early
for specifics, but we have at least two evening performances planned, with the possibility
of a total of three or four. A long-time conference friend, Kevin Armento, has been
part of our community for about 12 years. The first play he presented at our conference
was *Killers*; the play was recently made into a great film starring Daisy Ridley,
*Sometimes I Think About Dying*.
We plan to screen the film in an evening at this year's Conference, with a particular
twist for us. The play contains long monologues in which the main character discusses
her state of mind. In the film, those monologues are transformed into silent montages.
We'll watch the movie together with the actors from the original reading we did in
2013. Additionally, actress Jules Sowerwein will have a microphone to read the monologues
under the film, showing how these parts were transitioned from stage to screen."
Dawson continued, "We'll also offer some classes related to writing for the stage,
which can easily be applied to screenwriting. We'll cover the business side of things
as well. Not everyone gets the chance to make movies with stars from *Star Wars*.
We'll also present an Anchorage production of *Blanche Stewart Scott* by Kristen Ritter,
who is among the leading young playwrights in the state. This production, performed
in Los Angeles as part of the SheNYC Arts Festival, along with a brief run in Anchorage,
is set in 1910 and tells the story of the first woman to drive across America in 1910.
The cast includes four of Alaska's best actors and will be wonderful.
I have other shows to discuss later, but these two are finalized. I typically limit
myself to two or three shows at a time. In the past, we had a performance every night,
back-to-back. The COVID pandemic forced us to stop because we couldn't fit everyone
into the theater, which made me realize that doing a play every night was excessive."
"I'm not sure I see myself as part of that department, but our theater community would greatly benefit from the program's return. We also need better training for 16 to 18-year-olds and more interaction between high school and community theater," he explained.
Dawson recalled his immersive theater experience in the eighties, emphasizing its ability to connect generations. "There's so much we can learn from each other—I want to encourage this interaction."
Furthermore, he plans to work on personal projects. At this year's Theatre Conference, he met writer Christopher Soucy, who was presenting his adaption of the 1895 short story collection *The King in Yellow*, about a play with tragic consequences if produced. Dawson directed the reading and joined the cast when an actor dropped out. They began collaborating on a new play, adapting H.P. Lovecraft's *The Shadow Over Innsmouth*. They are having story meetings and hope to have a full-length reading by December.