The Chronicle stops the presses- Play offers new twist on classic story
- Students create illustrations for Georgia Ports Authority
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Graduate student channels classic horror in thesis film - Alumnus creates mobile gallery
- SCAD libraries hold artist’s book competition for students
- Griffis discusses development of Arthur legend
- Noted author speaks to students
- The Green Scene: 'We have a dream'
- Personnel File: New staff members join SCAD-Savannah
- SCAD hosts regional IDSA conference
- Titus Kaphar to speak at SCAD
- The Bee Line
- Women’s lacrosse sets records in Kennesaw State win
- Athlete Feats highlights for Feb. 22
- Baseball takes series from St. Thomas
- Women’s basketball wraps up second place in Florida Sun
- Athletics updates for Feb. 15
- Baseball off to best start in program’s history
- Big third period leads lacrosse team to victory
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Class in the Spotlight
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All the classroom’s a stage for Knudsen
 SCAD archive photo Karla Knudsen waxes eloquent from within the dress form located in the Crites Hall lobby. By Monique Bos Published: Friday, February 23, 2007 Savannah College of Art and Design performing arts professor Karla Knudsen attributes a 1980s televised version of “The Elephant Man” with awakening her love of theater. “I think it brought me into the world of theater,” she said. “In one of the scenes, the actor was standing in silhouette. As the doctor described all his ailments and deformities, the actor himself began to morph into this crippled being. The magic of that has stayed with me for years. These earth suits we walk around in — they’re so malleable.” Years after she saw the televised film, Knudsen had the chance to direct “The Elephant Man” at SCAD. And she incorporates her sense of the human body and its fluidity into her graduate Acting and Stage Movement class, which she often conducts in sweats. “There’s a lot of physical warm-up and being aware of your body in space and its relationship to other bodies,” she said. “I’m a big believer that the body has a certain knowledge the mind doesn’t have but can borrow or steal.” Knudsen earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in what was then SCAD’s media and performing arts program, and she has taught in the department since 1999. Her résumé includes classes ranging from the introductory to graduate levels, and covering topics including theory and issues, stage management and, of course, movement. She also has directed a variety of productions, such as “Waiting for Godot,” “Master Harold and the Boys,” “Playing for Time” and “How I Learned to Drive.” Knudsen, who earned an undergraduate degree in music from Carnegie-Mellon University, said she sees elements of theater in teaching. “Fortunately, as performing artists and teachers, we get to practice our profession every day in the classroom,” she said. “There’s a certain kind of performance in the way you talk and listen.” That doesn’t mean she isn’t genuine with students, however — far from it. “Teaching keeps you honest,” she said. “If you don’t know it, you can’t teach it. It keeps me very teachable, too. I can’t go into the classroom without learning something from the students, or else the give-and-take is gone. I don’t think I as a teacher can afford to shut that down.” She said she also appreciates the qualities individual students contribute to their classes and productions. “One of the things I love is that when you get into the classroom, the people you get to spend 10 weeks with are all artists in their own right,” she said. “To teach performing arts at an art college is especially rewarding. If a student has taken contemporary art, you can say, ‘Make this scene more Kandinsky,’ and they know what you mean.” She added, “The senior project is their [undergraduate] capstone class — they write, produce and perform their own project. The knowledge they have, just being in a community of artists, informs the specificity and uniqueness of their pieces in wonderful ways.” Knudsen said SCAD also provides many avenues for fruitful cross- and interdisciplinary collaboration. “We have double majors who are performing arts and sequential art,” she said. “They understand story, know what story is. I love that we have all these interdisciplinary opportunities. Students are just so soaked in that.” Knudsen said the department also encourages faculty members to work with theater productions and professionals outside the college. She directed a piece based on the biblical book of Ruth during winter break, she said, and she also has been part of workshop projects. “It’s another way to make what you say and do in class valid,” she explained. “I don’t want to become that crusty old professor who waddles into class with no outside experience. That’s my nightmare!” Far from stagnating, however, she wants to push herself as an artist into new areas. “I would love to work more as a creative artist rather than just interpreting art, which we do a lot as actors and directors,” she said. “I think it’s more challenging and more risky to create something out of nothing. It’s all you.” A related passion of Knudsen’s — which she shares with her husband, Steve Knudsen, a painting professor and assistant rowing coach at SCAD, and their two daughters — is nature, which serves as a source of inspiration for her. “The natural world has a lot to teach us as artists,” she said. “We spend summers in Colorado and do a lot of hiking … being around water, getting up into the mountains and fishing. We love that, love the challenges up there.” She added, “I think one of the best legacies you can pass on to your children is to appreciate the natural world and pay attention to what’s going on around you.”  |
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