Daniel LaRocque, professor of theater, has been awarded the Gerald and Emily Leischuck Endowed Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching.
LaRocque said it's been very humbling to be recognized for something he's so passionate about.
"Auburn has an extraordinary faculty and I can think of many great colleagues, who I deeply admire, that deserve this award for more than I do,” LaRocque said. “It’s also an incredible honor to be recognized for what I truly love to do and why I came to Auburn in the first place—teaching.”
Dr. Gerald Leischuck and his late wife Emily were 1964 Auburn University graduates and retired University administrators. They created the Endowed Presidential Awards for Excellence in Teaching in 2005 to recognize two full-time, tenured faculty members who have demonstrated effective and innovative teaching methods, along with a continuing commitment to student success through advising and mentoring.
“Auburn is really fortunate to have patrons like the Leischucks who have made a tremendous longstanding commitment to recognize the value of teaching, mentoring and advising on our campus,” LaRocque said. “To me they epitomize what’s best about the Auburn spirit, and this award is all the more meaningful because it’s endowed in their honor.”
Since he began his teaching career at Auburn in 1990, LaRocque has been mentoring aspiring actors with his teaching philosophy of encouraging his students to step out of their comfort zone and taking risks to improve their skills as not only aspiring actors, but people as well.
“What I enjoy most about teaching is our students," LaRocque said. "They are some of the most remarkable human beings I’ve ever had the pleasure to know and work with.
LaRocque said it'd been inspiring seeing his students passion during their time at Auburn, as well as watching their success after graduating.
It takes a great deal of courage, determination and hard work to pursue a life in the theatre, and Auburn theatre students bring all of that and more," LaRocque said.
LaRocque began his career in theater as an actor with the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California in 1981. He's been able to perform in resident professional theaters all over the country since then, including Houston’s Alley Theatre, Richmond’s Theatre and the Utah, Illinois, North Carolina and Alabama Shakespeare Festivals. In England, he worked at Alan Ayckbourn’s Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round and played numerous small roles in television and film back in the 1980s.
“I came to Auburn in 1990 planning to spend nine months here before heading back to New York, so it’s nine months going on 27 years now,” LaRocque said. “I’d been engaged as a guest artist/teacher at the University of the South in Sewanee before coming to Auburn and discovered that teaching was something I enjoyed enormously, so it was great to be able to pursue that opportunity here at Auburn as well.”
LaRocque said he aims to help aspiring actors build important values through their work, including patience, positivity and hard-work. He does this by incorporating emotions, like empathy, in his lessons to help actors connect with their roles.
Since being at Auburn, LaRocque has taught classes in acting, voice and movement. He has directed nearly 50 University Theatre productions, was the Chair of AU Theatre from 2005-2011 and served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in College of Liberal Arts from 2011-2013. Even during his administrative period, LaRocque still continued to teach courses.
“Doing theatre is pretty special, believe me," LaRocque said. "When it’s working well, there’s a connection forged between the actor and the audience that’s absolutely palpable. Even though you’re doing eight shows a week, you get one shot and one shot only with each audience. Teaching is a process that allows multiple interactions with students over a sustained period of time.”
There is an difference between preforming on stage in front of an audience versus teaching a room full of students, LaRocque said.
“As wonderful as it is to have a really great moment on stage in the presence of an audience you feel absolutely connected to, it’s nothing like watching a student suddenly figure out an artistic problem they’ve been struggling with for weeks in rehearsal and then make their own magic performing for their own audience,” LaRocque said. “You get to watch that light come on and be amazed by what students do with it when it does.”
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
