Sarah Coleman is co-director of engagement at Portland Ovations in Portland, Maine, where she connects schools with performing arts experiences and creates arts integration opportunities for students and families. She has been teaching for almost two decades as a classroom teacher, university lecturer, and teaching artist, and has worked with students from pre-kindergarten to college. She has led professional development workshops in theatre, drama-based instruction, and arts integration for teachers across the United States and internationally. She collaborated on two district-wide arts integration initiatives—in Austin, Texas, and Baltimore, Maryland—that concentrated on curriculum development, advocacy, and communications. Her scholarly work focuses on drama-based pedagogy, arts integration, and embodied learning with English language learners, as well as social and racial justice practices. Additionally, she is a theatre director, producer, and dramaturg.
Using a variety of arts strategies, participants will practice embodied ways of engaging students and encouraging them to share their knowledge and perspectives with each other. This workshop will also help teachers find their own creative voices and learn how to capture learning results across all areas of the curriculum, including language arts, science, social studies, and math.
Sarah Coleman will explore how to create three-dimensional literary characters that are inspired by photographs. Through a short series of written and embodied exercises, participants will develop well-rounded characters that can be put into conversation with each other.
During this session, Sarah Coleman will be in her virtual classroom ready to answer specific questions and to provide one-on-one time with participants who desire additional information about theatre related issues or arts education concerns.
Sarah Coleman will explore how to create three-dimensional literary characters that are inspired by photographs. Through a short series of written and embodied exercises, participants will develop well-rounded characters that can be put into conversation with each other.