Alan Teasley
Instructor Profile: Alan Teasley
May 2020
Are you interested in American musical theater: If you are, consider signing up for Alan Teasley’s Zoom class: “Rodgers and Hammerstein Encore!” during the upcoming OLLI Spring Zoom Term.*
Alan came to OLLI at Duke after 31 years as a teacher and administrator in the Durham Public Schools (he retired in 2006). His OLLI courses tend to deal with one of his two major interests: documentary film and musical theater.
Alan may be best known at OLLI for his class “The Road to Full Frame,” a behind-the-scenes look at Durham’s annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. Alan served on the Board of Duke’s Center for Documentary Studies from 1999-2018. He has also served on the selection committee of the Festival for almost 20 years. In his documentary classes, Alan focuses on the
fundamentals of viewing and analyzing compelling documentaries. The only homework in these classes is to watch a documentary (of each student’s choice) between classes.
In his classes about musical theater, Alan has so far focused on such giants as Stephen Sondheim and Rodgers and Hammerstein. He says preparing for classes is quite time-consuming and “it sharpens your game”—particularly as OLLI has moved to offer its classes online. As he looks toward the future, he wants to hear more from OLLI members about what they are
interested in learning. He encourages himself and everyone at OLLI to “be open to what others have to say.”
Alan is a member of the Instructor Relations Committee, and he is recognized as a master instructor at OLLI. As a mentor to new instructors, Alan shares with them the joys of teaching at OLLI—students who are eager to learn and are not seeking a grade or credential. He says, “OLLI students are smart and engaged, and they have a wealth of experiences.” Alan also helps instructors develop compelling slides, suggests presentation improvements, and advises how to effectively engage students in interesting discussions about the class material.
On May 5, Alan presented “Sondheim at 90” in a free 1-hour Zoom class for OLLI at Duke. He expertly blended informational lecture time with relevant and entertaining video and audio clips that highlighted many of the key themes of Stephen Sondheim’s career. We can expect the same learning experiences in his upcoming Zoom class on Rodgers and Hammerstein that will focus on their five major musicals: Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, and The Sound of Music. In teaching this course, Alan returns to his youth: as a teenager, the first LP he ever bought with his own money was an album of Rodgers and Hammerstein overtures.
*Registration opens at 9:00 am on May 11, 2020, for the Spring Zoom term May 19-June 25, 2020. Alan’s course “Rodgers and Hammerstein Encore!” will be held on Thursdays at 2:00 pm. The course number is 3129.
May 2020
Are you interested in American musical theater: If you are, consider signing up for Alan Teasley’s Zoom class: “Rodgers and Hammerstein Encore!” during the upcoming OLLI Spring Zoom Term.*
Alan came to OLLI at Duke after 31 years as a teacher and administrator in the Durham Public Schools (he retired in 2006). His OLLI courses tend to deal with one of his two major interests: documentary film and musical theater.
Alan may be best known at OLLI for his class “The Road to Full Frame,” a behind-the-scenes look at Durham’s annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. Alan served on the Board of Duke’s Center for Documentary Studies from 1999-2018. He has also served on the selection committee of the Festival for almost 20 years. In his documentary classes, Alan focuses on the
fundamentals of viewing and analyzing compelling documentaries. The only homework in these classes is to watch a documentary (of each student’s choice) between classes.
In his classes about musical theater, Alan has so far focused on such giants as Stephen Sondheim and Rodgers and Hammerstein. He says preparing for classes is quite time-consuming and “it sharpens your game”—particularly as OLLI has moved to offer its classes online. As he looks toward the future, he wants to hear more from OLLI members about what they are
interested in learning. He encourages himself and everyone at OLLI to “be open to what others have to say.”
Alan is a member of the Instructor Relations Committee, and he is recognized as a master instructor at OLLI. As a mentor to new instructors, Alan shares with them the joys of teaching at OLLI—students who are eager to learn and are not seeking a grade or credential. He says, “OLLI students are smart and engaged, and they have a wealth of experiences.” Alan also helps instructors develop compelling slides, suggests presentation improvements, and advises how to effectively engage students in interesting discussions about the class material.
On May 5, Alan presented “Sondheim at 90” in a free 1-hour Zoom class for OLLI at Duke. He expertly blended informational lecture time with relevant and entertaining video and audio clips that highlighted many of the key themes of Stephen Sondheim’s career. We can expect the same learning experiences in his upcoming Zoom class on Rodgers and Hammerstein that will focus on their five major musicals: Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, and The Sound of Music. In teaching this course, Alan returns to his youth: as a teenager, the first LP he ever bought with his own money was an album of Rodgers and Hammerstein overtures.
*Registration opens at 9:00 am on May 11, 2020, for the Spring Zoom term May 19-June 25, 2020. Alan’s course “Rodgers and Hammerstein Encore!” will be held on Thursdays at 2:00 pm. The course number is 3129.