Educator
I come from a long line of accessible educators and researchers and thus, connection, expression, and communication are my greatest passions. Theatre and accessible education are inextricably bound to one another through a common purpose. Theatre skills at their core are the practices of connection, expression and communication. Drama is inherently student-centered and accessible; for example, explorations using story, creative, and process dramas invite all participants to not only see themselves in the worlds that they are playing in, but to also make sense of the world at large.
When building a learning community, my focus is on each individual student and what they bring to the table. As a constructivist educator, I am passionate about weaving different threads together to develop a creative, bold, and robust classroom, which is guided by student ideas, contributions, and each individual's diverse abilities. In my pedagogy, I am constantly grappling with how theory entwines into practice as I bring young people together to explore, experiment, and engage.
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Work Samples
Elementary STEAM Musical Creation
These lyric sheets and song clip sample work from a third grade opera and STEAM investigation in a title 1 inclusion school in Boston. Students studied the life cycles of frogs, wrote pourquoi plays about why polligwogs wiggle, composed original songs for their plays, created props and scenic pieces, and performed their plays live.
Early Childhood Devising
This song clip is from my work devising with Pre-K, K1, and K2 inclusion classrooms to create the Little Red Hen Cycle: three entirely unique, youth-driven, linguistically-diverse Operas for the Very Young adaptions of the classic Little Red Hen story!
Playlist Project: Monologue Creation Unit in Middle School Classrooms
This unit takes a unique spin on monologue creation by incorporating learning from music and ELA classes. Students were given five song playlists, which they analyized, and created robust characters that would listen to that playlist. After character work, students created and performed original monologues from the POV of their characters.
Upper Elementary Theatre for Social Change Investigation
During our semester-long theatre for social change investigation, students participated in The Walk with Little Amal performance project, designed and fabricated props from Story Boat, and wrote "I Am" monologues from the point of view of their props from the story.
High School Commedia Dell'Arte Unit Plan
This unit plan takes high school students on a tour through the history, dramaturgy, and performance skills involved in Italian Commedia Dell'Arte.
Early Elementary Story Drama and Choreography Devising
Interactive story dramas are a critical piece of my early elementary curriculum. Kindergarten students are introduced to The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything through the DBP strategy of Artifact, where they can extend their scientific reasoning and investigation skills. After the story drama, students practice movement sequencing, and work in teams to choreograph their own versions of the scarecrow dance.