April earned her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts cum laude from Hendrix College in 2001. After interning at Parkview Arts and Sciences Magnet High School in Little Rock, Hendrix awarded April with the James W. Meriwether Award for Secondary Education. She went on to develop the magnet theatre program at Hot Springs Middle School in Hot Springs, AR where she worked as a classroom drama teacher for three years. During this time, she married her favorite collaborator, Spencer Sutterfield.
In the spring of 2007, April graduated from the top-ranked Drama and Theatre for Youth M.F.A. program at the University of Texas at Austin. While at UT, April co-founded UT Connections, the University of Texas’ resident youth theatre and served as the artistic director. In addition to her youth theatre work, April has facilitated professional development workshops in Texas and Arkansas, has taught drama and personal and social development at Arkansas Governor’s School for nine summers, has directed community-based drama camps in Morrilton and Helena, and has served as a teaching artist in Pine Bluff and Little Rock schools. In 2007, April was awarded a playwrighting mentorship through the Arkansas Arts Council for her one-woman show exploring Southern womanhood through poetry and theatre, Sticky Thickets. April has published in TYA Today, Stage of the Art, and for the Community Arts Network. She has also presented at the American Alliance for Theatre and Education Conference in Washington, D.C.
April gave birth at home to a son in 2008, a daughter in 2011, and another daughter in 2014. Now she divides her time between facilitating her children in arts-based learning activities, creating her own projects as a free lance theatre artist, and volunteering in the T.A.I.L.S. animal-assisted therapy program at Arkansas Children's Hospital. This year, April leads a Creative Arts group for homeschooled kindergarteners and an ArtsExplore group for two and three year olds; will facilitate a theatre arts residency in Texarkana, Arkansas; and will return to teach drama at Arkansas Governor's School in the summer.
Contact April at april@aprilgentry-sutterfield.com.
In the spring of 2007, April graduated from the top-ranked Drama and Theatre for Youth M.F.A. program at the University of Texas at Austin. While at UT, April co-founded UT Connections, the University of Texas’ resident youth theatre and served as the artistic director. In addition to her youth theatre work, April has facilitated professional development workshops in Texas and Arkansas, has taught drama and personal and social development at Arkansas Governor’s School for nine summers, has directed community-based drama camps in Morrilton and Helena, and has served as a teaching artist in Pine Bluff and Little Rock schools. In 2007, April was awarded a playwrighting mentorship through the Arkansas Arts Council for her one-woman show exploring Southern womanhood through poetry and theatre, Sticky Thickets. April has published in TYA Today, Stage of the Art, and for the Community Arts Network. She has also presented at the American Alliance for Theatre and Education Conference in Washington, D.C.
April gave birth at home to a son in 2008, a daughter in 2011, and another daughter in 2014. Now she divides her time between facilitating her children in arts-based learning activities, creating her own projects as a free lance theatre artist, and volunteering in the T.A.I.L.S. animal-assisted therapy program at Arkansas Children's Hospital. This year, April leads a Creative Arts group for homeschooled kindergarteners and an ArtsExplore group for two and three year olds; will facilitate a theatre arts residency in Texarkana, Arkansas; and will return to teach drama at Arkansas Governor's School in the summer.
Contact April at april@aprilgentry-sutterfield.com.
