Theatre Artist. 

I am a director (MFA UMass Amherst), deviser, sometimes playwright & creative producer. I'm also an actor (and a proud member of Actor's Equity Association).
I am Cofounder and Co-Artistic Director of TheatreTruck, based in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts. We are a research-driven laboratory; a collaborative crafting mobile and site-specific performance, sustainably and playfully. 
Making theatre for me is about amplification and examination of our humanity and our world. I am most interested in cultivating community and ensemble, even in the brief and transient space of a production's life cycle, and believe that the ramifications of making community are far-reaching.
​I care deeply about diverse representation in theatre and expanding the canon. As a producer-director I work to cultivate socially conscious productions with refined detail and honed artistry and I bring the same high standards and thoughtful processes to my classroom.
The latest: ​
Check out this interview with myself and TheatreTruck CoFounder Elizabeth Pangburn about our experience at the Berkshire Leadership Summit, hosted by WAM Theatre.
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Students at UMass Amherst explore physical character & Victorian Panto
"Committed acts of caring let all students know that the purpose of education is not to dominate, or prepare them to be dominators, but rather to create the conditions for freedom. Caring educators open the mind, allowing students to embrace a world of knowing that is always subject to challenge and change."
​-bell hooks, Teaching Community

Educator. 

 I am a student-centered teacher and believe that the generous & collaborative nature of theatre lends itself beautifully to crafting learning spaces where active listening, critical-thinking and personal growth can be achieved. Together with my students I work to create community, which I believe even on a tiny and temporary level has wide personal and political repercussions.
​I work to create and participate in strong ensembles that foster brave work at the individual level. To me, the fundamental spirit of an actor's education lies in finding presence in the living moment - an awake and mindful sense of self and empathy for others that lends itself to all of life's experiences. Thus I strive to empower students to unfurl their courage, to discover within themselves a deeper empathy and to develop a more tuned sense of self. To me, this all falls under having a developed sense of presence.


Highlights:
  • For over half a decade I have offered acting courses at UMass Amherst, American International College and Mt. Holyoke College, exploring the building blocks of an actor's discipline for theatre majors and non-majors alike.
  • I have been an invited speaker at Hampshire College and UMass Amherst on multiple occasions, with focus on research-driven theatre making; physical performance; director-designer collaboration and womens' leadership.
  • I presented my work at the Earth Matters on Stage Conference at Carnegie Mellon University and recently was invited to attend the inaugural Berkshire Leadership Summit for women leaders in professional theatre, hosted by WAM Theatre.
  • I have been a teaching artist for schoolchildren, taught and coached high school aged students inside schools and out, taught older adults at community centers and offered master level workshops for professional actors.
  • I frequently work as a movement coach, drawing on my extensive background in physical comedy, mask theatre and the Commedia dell'Arte.