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EDUCATOR, THEATREMAKER, SCHOLAR

Julia (she/her/they/them) is a Boston-based educator and artist whose practice centers around inclusive arts education, theatre for young audiences, drama based pedagogy, and disability theatre. The greater Atlanta native is passionate about exploring how applied theatre practice, disability studies, and justice studies informs her work with young people. She hopes to be a co-conspirator, creator, and collaborator working with others to make places and spaces more inclusive. 

 

A multi-hyphenate artist, Julia has worked in the fields of stage management, directing, dramaturgy, production management, scenic artistry, and design. As a teaching artist, Julia specializes in inclusive arts education, theatre and opera devising, arts integration with young people ages 3-18. She has taught in special education, gifted STEM, ELL, theatre, early childhood, and foreign language classrooms in both private and public schools. 

 

Julia offers a unique voice, perspective, and experience to the growing body of knowledge around equity, access, inclusion, and justice. She strives to let her lived experience as an Autistic learner and educator forward the fields of accessible and theatrical education. Living at the intersection of these two fields of study emboldens her to not only critically examine the world that surrounds disabled people, but to allow her empathetic understanding of the marginalized experience to shape how she contributes to the future of drama in education.

 

The greater Atlanta native holds a BA in theatre from Georgia College and State University, where she concentrated her work in management, design, and arts integration. As a Theatre Education and Applied Theatre MFA candidate at Emerson College, Julia’s scholarship centers around theatre for the very young, disability theatre, interdisciplinary arts-based curriculum development, and youth participatory action research. 

Current Involvement

  • Head of Drama Programs at Saint Mary of the Assumption School in Brookline, Massachusetts 

  • Resident Teaching Artist with the Boston Opera 

    • Current Projects: 

      • Create Your Own Opera Residency Program: Devising Original Opera with Young People in the Boston Area aged 3-18 

      • Opera Stories Tour: Teaching and Performing in a Opera for Young Audiences Adaptation of Rossini’s La Cenerentola 

  • Emerson College Theatre Education and Applied Theatre MFA Candidate 

    • Current Work: 

      • Pursuing research in Theatre for the Very Young exploring how a TVY New Work’s dramaturgy process is informed by the play of young people

      • Education and Wrap Around Programming for Emerson Stage 

  • Breakout Session at the TYA/USA 2024 National Conference: “TYA in Times of Transition: Embodying Resilience for Early Career Artists”

Let's Connect!

Thanks for submitting! I look forward to our conversation!

Come follow my adventures on instagram @misswhittensclassroom

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“Students leave her at the end of the year significantly more in tune with their emotions, goals, and confidence”
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