JOPP’s philosophy of teaching is based on coaxing the authentic self to emerge – finding the access to the internal that one needs not to “act” but to “be.” That “being” is not so simple; it takes discipline, tools, and self-awareness through practice, focus, and openness to possibilities. JOPP’s belief is that when one is truly oneself, then the actor in that self can be “found” through study, discipline and awareness. The result of the work is a person with a renewed sense of self and an expanded sense of personal capacity, which makes the best kind of performer. 

The result is empowering, not just in the theatre, but in other, less rarefied worlds. JOPP uses mastery in the crafts of acting, movement, and dance to help others discover their deeper selves through interpretive intelligence and mastery of physical, psychological, and emotional awareness in performance. JOPP brings and finds in the classroom an exuberant joy and sense of total immersion in the present moment that goes hand in hand with improvisation, intuition, and engagement.