STAFF & FACULTY DIRECTORY PROFILE
Ashkon Davaran
Job Title:
Director of Dramatic Arts Dept.
Department:
Fine and Performing Arts
Email:
Phone: (510) 577-9100
ext.
501
Started at O'Dowd:
2020
Degrees:
B.A. Theatre Arts, UC Santa Cruz; M.A. Applied Theatre, CUNY
Originally from:
Berkeley, CA
Why I Teach:
I teach in order to help create a space where young people can explore, be inspired, and grow - this is what my mentors did for me. I seek to be engaged with my community, learning alongside each other as we go.
Most powerful teaching technique:
Listening
Why are the subjects you teach important?:
Through drama we are able to deepen our understanding of ourselves and others. By embodying and exploring life in its many iterations we recognize our role in shaping it. And we do all of this collectively, perhaps even finding a sense of community along the way.
Favorite quotes:
"All I know is that I don't know." -Jesse Michaels
Favorite trivia:
Recommended visual media:
Do the Right Thing and The Danger of a Single Story, a TED Talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Recommended reads:
All About Love by bell hooks, How to do Nothing by Jenny Odell, Autobiography by Malcolm X, Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, There There by Tommy Orange
Hobbies or outside interests:
Music, books, plays, basketball