
Julia Whitten
EDUCATOR, THEATREMAKER, SCHOLAR
Julia (she/her/hers) is an educator and artist based in the greater Boston area whose scholarship focuses on disability theatre and inclusive arts education. The greater Atlanta native holds a BA degree 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, she 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 accessible and inclusive.
Julia 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.
She has worked in the fields of stage management, directing, dramaturgy, production management, scenic artistry, and design, and 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.
Current and Recent Involvement
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Head of the Drama Program at Saint Mary of the Assumption School in Brookline, Massachusetts
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3rd Year MFA Candidate at Emerson College in the Theatre Education and Applied Theatre Program
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Recent Involvement
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Arts Specialist at Camp Fairwinds, a family camp in Maine for gender expansive youth and their caregivers.
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Co-Director of the Boston Lyric Opera Camp , produced in conjunction with VOICES Boston.
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Music and Movement Specialist for the City of Newton's Time for Partners program, playing with music makers ages 18 months-4 years.
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Organizational Involvement
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Theatre for Young Audiences (USA): Workshop Co-presenter at the 2023 TYA/USA National Conference ("Insights to Advancing Access: Disability Justice in TYA" Co-Presenter with Madeline Geier, Lily Lipman, and Shanna Sorrells)
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