Kylee Pastore Asirvatham
Maya Smoot
Theatre/Speech
Assistant Professor
Bio
Maya Smoot is originally from the Bay Area and earned an MFA in Acting from UC Irvine. She has worked as an actor regionally and in New York City and is a proud member of SAG-AFTRA. Maya has taught acting, voice, speech, scene study, and Shakespeare at Chapman University, Stella Adler Art of Acting LA, Crash Acting Studio, Encompass Collective (affinity-space actor training), the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in NYC, and was a guest teacher at Yale. She has also worked as an Artistic Associate at the New Swan Shakespeare Festival.
Maya previously served as Director of Education & Outreach at Colt Coeur, a nonprofit theater company, where she produced theater and led a free program empowering young New York City public school students to devise and perform their own original plays. She now continues her involvement with the company as a board member. She is currently a candidate for Fitzmaurice Voicework certification, with completion expected next year.
1. What questions, ideas, or creative concerns are at the center of your work right now?
Right now, I am curious about the following: actor autonomy as a revolutionary act; equality in the classroom and rehearsal environment; learning through joy and celebration; bringing joy and freedom to the creative process; bringing more of yourself to your acting work; and rejecting the “leave it at the door” policy.
2. What drew you to CCNY and to teaching within the Division of Humanities and the Arts?
In a time of artificial intelligence, theaters closing their doors, and the TV and film industry struggling to come back after the pandemic and strike, I am thrilled to hear that the CCNY Theatre & Speech Department is thriving. I am not at all surprised that students are craving ways to be creative that aren’t filtered through a screen or processor and are seeking live ways of connecting. I am drawn to the eagerness and curiosity of the students and excited to guide and propel the dreams that they have.
3. What do you hope CCNY students will experience, discover, or reconsider in your classroom?
In my classroom, I hope that students discover a space where they can be celebrated and seen in their creative process and learn new tools along the way. I hope they consider the fact that they already have everything they need in order to thrive as artists and that my classroom is a place where they can practice and explore.
4. How has a particular text, artwork, mentor, place, or experience shaped the direction of your work?
I walk almost daily in Fort Tryon Park, near the Heather Garden. I am astounded by the beauty there in every season and at different times of day. Every time I go, I see something new—whether it’s a new flower that’s blooming or something I hadn’t noticed before. There is something to witness in the middle of spring or on the coldest day in winter. On my best day, I approach teaching the same way, and I hope to inspire students to do the same with their creative process.
5. What are you most excited to contribute to—or explore within—the intellectual and creative community at CCNY?
I'm eager to find ways to collaborate across the college. Theater is a vessel for sharing, understanding, and connection, and I believe our campus is full of opportunities to learn from one another. Perhaps we devise a new play drawn from short stories out of the English Department or create a movement piece inspired by a science experiment—and then share them in collaboration with a nonprofit theater. I'm excited to help build upon the legacy of CCNY and be a public advocate in order to share and develop work more widely with the theater community in New York City.