Ann Neal
What do you love best about teaching at St. Agnes?
I love teaching these girls! They are smart, talented, and kind. I look forward to spending time with them. When these girls walk across the stage at graduation, I know that they will accomplish great things. I am blessed with the opportunity to play even a small part in preparing them for their futures.
What makes SAA unique?
There is no place like SAA. The Everygirl that attends can find someplace that feels like home Whether it is the theatre, the softball field, the math lab, or the science lab, there is a comfort in this place. I believe that it is more than acceptance. There is always an invitation to belong, to be involved. You will find it all over this campus.
What are some of the ways you bring lessons to life?
I firmly believe that we have to know where we have come from in order to know where we are going. In Drama I the girls choose an event that changed history. After conducting research, they create a fictional character and describe the event from that point of view. In this way, the girls become part of history and sometimes see things in a very different way than they did when reading about the event in a history book. I take advanced drama classes to the places where history was made. Sometimes we amble through Elmwood Cemetery, learning about the people that have shaped this city: politicians, military heroes, musicians, artists, mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers. The girls use the knowledge that they have gained to write monologues and short plays. The ancestor project prompts research into their own families. Recently, I took a group to the Mississippi Delta to study the Italian immigrants who came from the Marche Region of Italy to work on the Sunnyside Plantation.
What do you hope students take away from your classes?
Women have worked long and hard to be heard and taken seriously. I want these girls to leave my classes with the confidence and the tools to speak their truths from their hearts.
How do the Dominican Pillars of Study, Prayer, Community and Service inspire life at SAA-SDS?
These students and teachers become the Four Pillars. It is everything that we are. Asking for and offering prayers is commonplace. The study makes us aware, which makes us able to be better citizens - leaders and followers. By the time the girls leave St Agnes, taking care of each other and taking care of our world is what they do. It is not a chore, but a pleasure.
Describe the SAA Theatre Department.
Where do I start? Every year we rehearse and perform three plays or musicals. One of the most important things is finding the best performance to showcase the talent and personalities of the girls. We have run the gamut from serious dramas such as Miracle Worker and The Diary of Anne Frank to comedies like You Can’t Take it With You, The Curious Savage, the Carol Burnett Review. The talent in this program is unbelievable. They know that their talent is God-given and they use it for good. There is a place for everyone in the theatre. If singing or acting is not comfortable for girls, they may find a place working on set design or light and sound design, costume or make-up design. 2018 graduate Elizabeth Brady will attend Elon where she was accepted in the set design and production program. Several of the girls go on to pursue a career in dramatic arts. Rebecca Winchester will attend Rhodes College and seek a degree in performing arts. She wants to direct someday. I can go on and on. I am so proud of these students - what they have accomplished, what they will accomplish, and their big and generous hearts.
What makes the SAA-SDS theatre program unique?
These talented young women and men take care of each other. It is one of the first lessons that we learn. Take care of each other on and off the stage. Yes, it is about entertaining and giving the audience a great show, but it is the sense of belonging that makes us unique. Our mission is to make people happy. Several times each year we will get on a bus and take the music and the soul of this theatre to the community, to people who cannot get to us. We visit nursing homes, schools in some of the struggling areas of the city. The students call it the Share the Love” Tour. It is by far the best thing that we do.
What is your favorite SAA tradition?
I love the graduation day traditions - the white robes, the red roses, the way that the ceremony is respectful, beautiful and meaningful.
Hobbies?
Working in the yard is my favorite therapy. Of course, I love to go to the theatre. I love everything Memphis - music, museums, restaurants, the people.