Teaching Artist

     As a teaching artist, I begin a project by listening to my partnering organization's needs and wants.  Then I brainstorm ways to address those needs and wants until I find an angle that also inspires me as an artist.  Once engaged in a project with participants, I first use ensemble building exercises to establish an expectation of mutual respect, to inspire creativity, and to just have fun.  Theatre embraces multiple art forms, so I often use visual art, creative writing, and movement in my working process.  In the end, I hope to have facilitated participants in discovering the endless possibilities present when we open ourselves up to the creative process and collaborate to make our ideas a reality.  

Experience (selected projects)

Teaching Through Drama

In September 2013, I taught the elements of story through drama in 5th, 4th, 2nd, and 1st grade classrooms.  I used the exact same exercises in all classes with modifications appropriate to age level.  The overall goal of my work was to demonstrate drama techniques for teachers who will, hopefully, continue to experiment with this work.

Creating Original Work 

In March 2011, I facilitated the Create-A-Play Spring Break Camp for Trike Theatre in Bentonville, AR.  Using tabloid headlines, we created a play about aliens from Planet Zeeba.  In addition to writing the play, we created Planet Zeeba.  

Creative Drama Camp

From 2004-2006, I co-directed the Absolutely Positively Creative Kids' Camp at the Rialto Theatre in Morrilton, AR.  Each year, we facilitated k-6th grade students in creating performances based on picture books.