MARK 'COACH' MINEART
TESTIMONIAL
HUSSEIN EL NASR
AUC Graduate
I took Acting Shakespeare with Coach Mark Mineart and I was fortunate enough to be directed by him in two mainstage productions. What impresses me the most about Mark is the fact that he constantly demands and expects the best from his students. This quality holds him above most professors I have met in my time, and in an era where most students are too lazy to perform actions which are not directly accomplished through their smartphones, Mark's constant drive to get the best out of everybody around him is not only integral to the theatre, its an integral part of each student's learning.
His unwillingness to accept laziness, poor excuses, or any measure of mediocrity showed me how one should behave in a professional and learning environment. It is my personal belief that this quality is what ensured that the productions he has directed have been so fantastic.
This standard that Mark sets brings the best out of his students. Students who routinely show up late to class will eventually develop the ability and willingness to be punctual. Students or Actors who do not memorize their lines will develop and hone that skill until it is second nature, and all this will be done because that is what is expected of a student or actor at this academic level.
Mark understands that to expect or demand any less at this level, from his students or himself would be letting the students down. He understands that the most important value they will learn in their time in University is discipline, and to accept a lack of discipline as the norm would be damaging to his students and their future.
Through this high standard, Mark also shows his students and his actors, that love for the theatre means putting every fiber of your being into a production and working hard. That is how a play or a performance goes from good to great.
I feel Mark Mineart is invaluable to the Department of the Arts and AUC as a whole, and I can honestly say that working with him was one of the most valuable experiences I had in my time at university.