INTRO TO THEATRE (COLLEGE):
- "Professor Guyton is a fantastic teacher that I would recommended to all my peers. He make the class interactive and easy to understand. His large knowledge base on the subject and overall passion for it can be seen through his work. I personally enjoyed the class and have been recommending it to my other classmates."
- "I took a hybrid theatre class taught by Professor Guyton, and he made sitting through a 9am-3pm class fly by! Interesting lectures, group activities, and we even got to see a play for free as part of our writing assignment! He's a very professional and organized professor. Would highly recommend!"
- "Enjoyed this course very much. Professor Guyton definitely made theatre interesting to learn about!"
- "I want to thank you for your understanding and your incredible teaching. I’m very grateful to have such a fun and uplifting class in a time the rest of life can be so sad. Thank you again."
- "I had Mr. Guyton for theatre 1101. He teaches from slides, but he always elaborates very well on the topic. The material on tests and quizzes come straight from the slides, which he posts online. He curves all quizzes and tests. There are two 5 page essays due towards the end of the semester. Overall, he's a really solid choice for this class."
- "First Class I ever had in college and I am grateful I got his. Very helpful and made me ready to learn!"
- "I took him for Intro to Theater and I enjoyed his class."
- "I truly LOVED this course! Professor Guyton made sure that we stayed engaged and taught us valuable life skills that we will continue to use throughout our college career and so on!"
- "I learned a lot about Theater that I never knew or thought of. The material that we covered was good as well as the instructor."
- "It was the perfect balance and everything we played out helped me learn the material more."
- "VERY GREAT FEEDBACK! His feedback allowed me to learn from my mistakes and it will continue to help me in the rest of my college career and life!"
- "I learned more from him teaching in the classes than I did reading and going through the book."
- "100% YES! I would take it again if I could!"
- "Love this instructor! He's great!"
- "This is a great course and instructor!"
- "This class was fun and I learned a lot. Professor Guyton was a wonderful teacher and made theatre fun for me. I would have never gone to play before this class and he showed me it could be fun."
- "Professor Guyton was an amazing instructor. His passion for theatre was unmistakable & he ensured that the students felt the amazing energy of theatre he even invited us to see a live play!"
- "He's amazing, the class is amazing, and theatre is amazing. Thank you, Professor Guyton!"
- "I have recommended him to another student already."
- "I enjoyed this class very much. And enjoyed my teacher, he was very helpful and made the class interactive and fun!"
- "Very good instructor, his class is very organized."
- "He was the best."
- "He's communicative, talkative, makes understandable presentations, allows for late assignments, and he even allowed me to make up my midterm after my crash."
- "The teacher made every class interesting. It was a great class, I loved it!"
- "I appreciated his enthusiasm that he showed while teaching the class."
- "Nice and was willing to work with students."
- "He's cool."
- "[I enjoyed] his love for theatre."
- "He is a wonderful teacher."
- "The instructor was awesome, he's funny and really down to earth. He can connect with students and inspires them at all times. He makes theatre fun. His quizzes and exams were really easy and he broke down the plays we read so we could understand."
- "He teaches very well and his grading system is excellent."
- "He understands our difficulties and likes to help us."
- "Very nice and was very into the subject."
- "I loved how he made the class fun and actually let us do things, like act out and try new things."
- "I really enjoyed his style of teaching."
- "I love how he loves what he's doing."
- "I enjoyed everything that this instructor [taught] and his teaching skills."
- "Clear on instructions."
- "Very kind teacher and made the class entertaining and enjoyable."
- "He is funny, nice and very straightforward."
- "He seemed enthusiastic about the material and stuck to the syllabus. Also was a quick grader and tried to make the class interesting."
- "I like how he has professional experience in the theatre world. I liked how he asked for our opinion on what we learned in class and I enjoyed how what he taught was related to real world theatre."
- "I like how he made theater more fun. He had a very active learning environment so everyone could participate."
- "It was very effective learning through the combination of videos AND notes, not just one or the other."
- "Kept class entertaining and very understanding!"
- "This instructor was very funny and entertaining!"
- "He gave me a stronger appreciation for theatre which I'm sure was the objective."
- "I enjoyed learning about the hard work that really goes into theatre and getting to watch certain plays and musicals. There are a lot of professions to be found in theatre that I didn't know about so learning about the whole process was very interesting."
- "I enjoyed reading the different plays and being able to act them out in class. I also enjoyed the videos on different plays and how different plays around the world are different from the ones here in the U.S."
- "VERY understanding and wants you to succeed."
- "This was my favorite class this semester. I really enjoyed it."
- "Great teacher and a great class. Professor Guyton is a great teacher who keeps things lively and interesting while still conveying content in a clear and memorable way."
- "I've learned many different characteristics of theatre."
- "It was very interesting."
- "Enjoyed learning all of the information and going to the plays."
- "Nothing [to improve]. He is awesome."
- "Gave good feedback and criteria on acting skills, tells you ways to improve. Always positive."
COLLEGE SUCCESS (College):
- "During professor Guyton's classes, it is evident that great effort has been put into preparing the material each day. Professor Guyton keeps his students engaged through active participation. By implementing various teaching strategies, he engages all of the major learning types."
- "This instructor is outstanding!"
- "He is kind and made sure to use my correct pronouns (she/her) there was not one time that he referred to me as "he" or "sir" without immediately correcting himself. Thank you!"
- "Very positive interactions with students. Even when correcting errors (pronunciations, etc.) instructor was consistently positive and affirming. As a student, I would be interested in working through this activity and seeing the results. Good job presenting it clearly."
- "Professionalism above reproach. Highly engaged with students."
CRITICAL THINKING (College):
- "Really helpful class. I really enjoyed this class and felt like it really appealed to different types of learning styles. Really interactive and the teacher was very helpful."
LEARNING SUPPORT ENGLISH (College):
- "Best teacher I had! I'm confident with everything he taught me during this semester."
- "Great teacher"
- "In all sincerity, I can describe this course and the instructor as a great support system for me to achieving (sic) my goal. He's exceptionally professional and considerate of the needs of his students."
- "I appreciate the way he teach us (sic), also he is very kind to answer our questions."
- "I must admit, for my next English course, I asked if Professor Guyton was instructing the class. I would prefer him if possible."
- "Professor Guyton showed great support to me with the feedback and the right way my assignments could be - with detail. That increased my confidence and motivation in the class."
- "He answered questions and went into better detail if someone was having a hard time understanding something."
- "I would recommend this instructor to every student."
- "I feel he does very good in teaching and helping students understand the material."
- "Mr. Guyton, thank you so much for all your hard work, your support and encouragement. You have demonstrated what learning should look like."
- "Thank you so much Professor Guyton, for teaching me skills in English 097 that I can use throughout my lifetime."
- "Best teacher ever! Awesome lectures, and worked with improving writing and reading skills!"
COMPOSITION I & II (College)
- "I wanted to say thank you for being a great professor during these past 8 ½ weeks! I truly appreciate everything you've taught us, and I know more now than I did when we began this course."
- "I really appreciate your patience with me in class. You’re always keeping positive energy and it’s very inspiring to me so I appreciate you not only for the work but for showing to always keep positive energy. I hope to see you around soon professor. I really appreciate you."
- "Professor Guyton was extremely helpful and understanding. His course topics were interesting and easy to engage with. I truly enjoyed my time in this class."
- "The best professor!"
- "Was very nice. Never got mad. Allowed us to resubmit late assignments. Offered constructive criticism. 5 / 5"
- "The best instructor I have had thus far!"
- "A great teacher who keeps everyone motivated and well informed on what is due. 10 out of 10!!"
- "He's never mean with what he says and talks very nicely but also firmly to us."
- "He always responds to my emails no longer than a day after I send them."
- "Professor Guyton makes sure everyone is interacting in the class, usually by allowing everyone to read out loud. Professor Guyton also regularly posts grades and is very straightforward."
- "Dr. Guyton was... very professional and helpful."
- "Class with him is always a nice way to start the school day. He's always understanding even with my 'dumb' questions."
WORLD LITERATURE (College)
- "Anytime I turned in an assignment Professor Guyton provided amazing feedback that allowed me to improve on the next assignment."
- "Instructor answers question with great detail, keeps us focused, and always gives feedback of essays. This all helps in ensuring students are retaining information and not simply regurgitating it. Great professor!"
- "Professor Guyton was a great instructor this past quarter. He was very understanding if I had anything going on and I couldn't make it to class, he provided detailed and helpful feedback on any essay or assignment we had and was overall a great teacher."
HOW TO MARKET YOUR PLAYS Workshop:
- "I really enjoyed the class and I got a lot out of it. I appreciate the preparation work you put into it... I think the time was well spent... I didn't feel like any of the time was wasted once we all got on track with the format. The breakout session and follow-on discussion about the pitch... was the most productive and valuable part. I would be interested in seeing more of this sort of thing."
- "Thank you Daniel! I enjoyed the workshop and I got a lot out of it!"
- "Thank you. The class was awesome!"
- "Well structured, knowledge of Instructor, great hand-out attachments, encouraging."
- "I liked that I expanded my knowledge and perspective on every topic discussed."
- "The content was great and I got a lot out of the group work (coming up with the pitch)."
- "Lots of info!"
- "Overall outstanding class!"
FINISH IT! Workshop:
- "I truly enjoyed today and found it helpful. Any chance you could do this on a regular basis? I’d be happy to pay more."
- "Thanks so much Dan! Great basic reminder class with good exercises! I thought you did a great job... I think it's really wonderful how you use all the points of basic dramaturgy to point the playwrights toward their endings. It proves that if they do what they should do (if they are working that way, and most are) then it should all come out in the end in the "right" way. And it should!"
- "I wanted you to know that in spite of the tech glitches (yawn....who hasn’t had those?) the class was really useful for me. I got some great ideas!"
- "I knew pretty much all of this, but getting it talked about and putting it down in notes was what I was looking for and I got it. It changes the start of one of my plays. Helpful talk from the participants too."
- "Tech problems aside, I found the workshop to be useful (and said so on Survey Monkey), so thanks for taking the initiative. Always good to have a few more tips for the toolkit when writing - and I appreciated your generally laid-back approach to sharing your expertise."
- "Great tips from Dan and interesting observations from fellow playwrights."
- "The systematic, well organised information about techniques for ending a play, the Play Structure diagram and the excellent examples Daniel referred to."
- "I liked the 51 things in 10 minutes exercise that was participated in the workshop. It allowed me to see different dimensions to my characters that I did not see before."
- "The information was excellent. Daniel obviously prepared well for it in a thoughtful organized way. To open the floor to additional comments was a great move... Some terrific ideas!"
- "The clear way in which Daniel was able to articulate how all the basic rules of dramaturgy work toward helping a writer complete a play."
- "Good information about fundamentals for those of us without an MFA."
- "[I enjoyed] the organized, yet free, exchange or ideas and techniques."
DRAMATIC STRUCTURE FOR PLAYWRIGHTS Workshop:
- "I especially appreciated the facilitator's time management - allowing for discussion, writing exercises but ensuring the lesson plan was completed."
- "[I liked] the collaborative feel, the concise steps to follow, while still being encouraged to find creative ways to stretch beyond those parameters."
DIRECTING FOR ZOOM Workshop:
- "The presentation was excellent and [I] was excited to see how a show presents itself during these dark days of this pandemic. There still are so many technical questions (same as if directing for the live stage) that I have, but this course help showcase what is possible and great tips for making sure the performance is successful... The information presented helped us learn about setting up the invitation link to ticket holders and audience. The presentation was easy to follow and gave great tips about live theatre and Zoom."
- "Pace was good for novice users. Questions were answered as we went along, not left for the end."
- "Dan's approachability and patience - clear power point information given."
- "Lots of fresh ideas."
- "I think the class could have gone longer by about 30 minutes to fit in all the great info you provided."
MERELY WRITERS:
- "I just want to commend Dan for the amazing job he has done with this group and all he has done to support Merely Players Presents. He has taught, led, facilitated, organized, promoted, communicated, and countless other tasks to keep our writer's group and theatre relevant and active! Thank you Dan!" (Joanie McElroy, Merely Players Presents, 2020)
- "What an enjoyable, professional session on Sunday evening! The plays were sophisticated and well-written. (I had no doubt that would be the case after taking your playwriting class on Saturday.) I especially appreciated the style of feedback you have created... it was heartening to see a well-oiled machine... All of the actors were enjoyable as well." (Marlene May, 2021)
ATLANTA DRAMATISTS:
- "I just want to thank you again for last night! I didn't expect such full and robust feedback. Everyone seems so considerate, engaged, and interested in new work and improving it. I hope to attend again in the future. Thanks for allowing me to participate and for offering this opportunity in the first place!" (Jennifer Schaupp, 2023)
- "Thank you so much for including my piece. I loved hearing everyone's works and the incredible actors who brought them to life. I'm excited to tackle revisions with your excellent observations in mind." (Donna Latham, 2023)
- "Thank you so much, it was great to hear some awesome writing, and the actors are amazing! Hearing the first scene from mine helped me so much. Going to edit now!" (Paige Steadman Ross, 2023)
- "I've already made changes to my piece given some good notes. I appreciate it so much." (Marj O'Neill Butler, 2024)
- "Thank you... actors for a great reading--I laughed, not at my own jokes, but at how you performed them! And the feedback was so helpful. When listening, I didn't hear the clunks, but now I understand them. A better play will result." (Judith Pratt, 2024)
- "You’re very kind, in this and everything else you do. You’re also a lively, inventive, and intelligent stage presence, as evidenced by what you brought to Peter Pilps. Your performance suggested you put some preparation into it—not always a given, and for which I thank you." (Thomas Cherwin, 2024)
KENNEDY CENTER / ACTF ADJUDICATOR:
- "Can I just say how awesome that response session was yesterday? Thank you both so very much for your time, and for sharing your insights and observations. I think it was very validating for the students to hear your feedback...so THANK YOU!!!" (Julie Ray, UGA, 2023)
- "I couldn’t agree more... Such a pleasure to share space and critical thought with you both. I know it was a tremendous benefit to all involved to hear your feedback." (Justin Anderson, UGA, 2023)
AS A STUDENT:
- "This is a thorough and well organized paper. You have described each of your genres clearly and have included excellent examples. I even learned some things. Yours was the most thoroughly developed of any genre section I received. The assignment is practical, uses a "real world" (always the quotation marks) situation, and fits the genre. The instructions were clear. I was ready to do it. The final section is supported very well. You wove in the quotes with your own words perfectly. Though the requirements for this section were diverse, you have woven them all together into a cohesive essay. If this were a 4H fair, you would get best of show. I hope you found this exercise to be useful. Every part of it was polished. It demonstrated your mastery of the material as well as creativity in the classroom. Thank you for your work on this." (Dr. Scott Topping, Grand Canyon University, 2023)
AS A PLAYWRIGHT/DIRECTOR/ACTOR:
- "Daniel Guyton is an awesome playwright/screenwriter/director and actor. Daniel has a special talent for really tapping into the understanding of a story, character, or dialogue of a play and script by utilizing his ability from being an actor which allows others who read his materials to really eat into the meat and bones of it as if it’s an enjoyable meal at a dining restaurant that you’ll keep coming back for just because of the amazing experience." (Jerrell Brown, Alignable, 2024)
BOOK DEDICATION FROM A FORMER STUDENT:
- "I want to extend my deepest gratitude to a great teacher, Professor Daniel Guyton. As a first-time college student at the age of 54, I was required to take introductory literature courses. The class was a three-hour session, held twice a week, and Professor Guyton was the instructor. I vividly remember the first day of this class. It began with a warm-up assignment and quickly moved into a required read-aloud exercise from the textbook. This request alone had me shaking in my boots, but Professor Guyton was there to reassure us. The final task of the day was to start, and if possible, complete a written assignment before the class ended and I found myself frantically typing away at the computer keyboard. From that day onwards, it happened quite often. I would continue to write long after everyone else had left and was always the last student to leave the class.
One day as I noticed the last student exiting the classroom, I heard myself say aloud, 'I am always the last to leave” with great frustration. To my surprise, someone replied, “No Gwen, I am here with you.' It was Professor Guyton.
Professor Guyton, thank you for being a teacher who is still passionate about the work you do so well and continuing to inspire and support your students. We need more teachers like you in every learning institution around the world. Thank you for your kindness." (Gwendolyn Willis, dedication in her book EVS: A Noble Profession, 2024)