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Brooke Boertzel’s professional passion involves utilizing theater as an educational tool for exploring social, emotional, and academic content. Brooke holds an MFA in Acting from the Actors Studio Drama School at New School University and an MA in Educational Theatre from NYU. She’s served on panels and as a guest lecturer at NYU, Hunter College, Baruch College, Teachers College at Columbia University, City College of New York, Brooklyn College, Rutgers, and Princeton University, covering such topics as arts integration, assessment, and evaluation, applied theatre, curricula design, and developing theatre and curricula with and for special populations, including English Language Learners and students with disabilities. Before working at McCarter, Brooke served for 11 years as the Director of Education at New York City Children’s Theater, previously named Making Books Sing. Utilizing her expertise in arts integrative learning, she co-created Alice’s Story and Fair and Square, two nationally recognized interactive anti-bullying applied theater programs featured on the cover of Time Magazine for Kids in 2012. Brooke served on the Board of Directors for the New York City Arts and Education Roundtable from 2013-2018, where she advocated for quality arts programming for NYC public schools while also acting as the Chair of their Membership Committee.
This two-day seminar will expand participants' creative toolkit through engaging storytelling and story-making exercises. Designed to foster connection, inspire imaginative thinking, and challenge students to think outside the box, these activities will help explore creative and curricular content. Delve into various theatrical styles and techniques as we actively participate in playful exploration and reflect on how these methods can enhance and deepen our classroom work. Interactive discussions, reflection, and the practical application of new skills will be at the heart of our experience. Educators from all disciplines and skill levels are welcome to join as we uncover the myriad ways theater can be used as a powerful educational tool for exploring social, emotional, and academic content.