EDUCATOR and PLAYWRIGHT
I am a teacher using the Socratic Method, always engaging my students in thought provoking questions and discussions. I challenge them to ask 'why are we doing this...Or I ask them 'why is it important that we learn this? I encourage their involvement in the process. I believe if you believe in your students...they will believe in themselves.
Educator
I developed my talents as an educator when I started an afterschool program at the Bank Street School in New York City. I continued to learn and experiment through the classes I taught for the community programs at Trinity Rep in Providence RI. I created and taught all the youth programs starting with one class and ending with five classes and a summer camp program. I moved to North Carolina in 2009 and started teaching acting classes at Davidson Community Players. I started with one class which grew to four as well as multiple summer camps. I designed a Shakespeare production workshop for youth. During the workshop the cast created their own costumes, sets and props. Please see YouTube links to the acting workshop productions of 'Sadako' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trFP9-pok_g&t=3s and 'Macbeth' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2CPKjxgAa4 .
In 2013 I was chosen to provide programs for the Arts and Science Councils Educator Provider Directory. Grants were given to schools to hire my company for workshops or residencies in their school. I developed and taught Improvisation, Shakespeare, Playwriting, the Holocaust, Children of the Mills, Children of Grecian Times and more. I was especially honored to provide STEM-based acting classes for Charlotte's 'Project Lift' schools . Please see the video down below and a testimonial of a former student (currently a senior at NYU Tiesch). https://youtu.be/23sPiCsuQNg .
I was fortunate to design and teach the acting curriculum for Matthews Playhouse for nine years. In 2011 the primary educational programs at Matthews Playhouse were Musical Theatre classes. I started the acting program with twelve students and one class and in four years I had designed seven levels of classes and taught ninety students. Please see the PDF for a description of the seven levels of classes, (which I designed and taught) offered at Matthews Playhouse. You may view the PDF if you print or download it.
In 2020 I was hired to teach an intensive Shakespeare study of Henry VI to a theatre class at the Community School of Davidson. I also taught my 'Shakespeare: Outside the Box' to five senior English classes. I was amazed by the participation of the students and their commitment to the class. They wrote me thank you notes telling me of their new love and understanding of Shakespeare through my class.
I have designed and taught numerous acting workshop classes for seniors ages 55 to 103. I taught a 'Young at Heart..Laugh in Experience' performance class for Davidson Community Players, 'Short Attention Span' improvisation class and a 'Life Stories' class for Matthews Playhouse. For seven years I taught monthly acting classes for the Brookdale Weddington Park assisted living community.
Playwright
I have adapted twenty plays from William Shakespeare and Classic Children's Stories. Please see my Curriculum Vitae for the list.
Acting Class Curriculum PDF
PDF of class curriculum may be viewed by printing or downloading it.
'Project Lift' Evaluation from the Students. Please click center to start the video.
