Dr. Scott Miller, known as 'Doc' to his students, knew that theater and film training could open minds, foster confidence, provide public speaking skills, and teach the value of teamwork and the meaning of professionalism. Above all, he saw the study of theater as a means, not an end.

 

His alumni have become actors, screenwriters, theater teachers, therapists, business people, beauticians, doctors, spoken-word poets, make-up artists, and high school principals. He set the bar high and was proud of his students when they rose to the challenges, knowing that this, more than anything else, would prepare them for life after high school.

 

Dr. Miller was a husband, father, grandfather, actor, director, playwright, theater educator, producer, and, no surprise to anyone who knew him, an improv comic. After attending drama school in London, he and his wife moved to New York City, where he was an actor, and discovered that he enjoyed being a theater teaching artist.

 

After a successful career on the East Coast as a theater teaching artist, Dr. Miller found his true calling in 2000 when he became the head of the theater program at Cleveland School of the Arts.

 

He loved his job, and he loved his students. In his first year at CSA, he began teaching playwriting and created the New Play Festival, which he produced for the next 22 years. He also continued to act, direct, and write plays made in Charlotte and Cleveland.

 

His final show, in 2022, which he co-wrote with his students, was "We Are One." It featured conflicts involving prejudice and hate in our world today and characters confronted with situations in which they have no choice but to try and find ways to work together and embrace our common humanity.