Grady High School Playmakers Workshop, Atlanta, GA
2009-2018
For 10 years, Megan has brought the art of playwriting and performance to her alma mater, Henry W. Grady High School, in Atlanta. On a Friday afternoon, a small group of high school students meet with Megan, who teaches them the basics of playwriting. Over the next 24 hours, they write a 2-character play, rehearse it with over 15 professional adult actors directors, and present a staged reading of the plays on Saturday evening.
Click here for an article about the 2018 workshop.
Click here for an article about the 2013 workshop.
Click here for an article about the 2018 workshop.
Click here for an article about the 2013 workshop.
- Always awesome seeing those kids light up at the end! -- Brad Brinkley, actor
- I am in awe of the kids and all of the commitment, support and talent I saw and felt in that lovely black box! I hope to be invited back!-- Lucia Scarano, actor
- This is such a wonderful experience for everyone involved. My favorite part is watching the playwright’s faces as they watch their words come to life! I love that professional actors take their work as seriously as if it were a well known professional playwright’s work. -- Elissa Marele, director
- I am always so impressed by the imaginations and sophistication of these young playwrights. So grateful that they are our future. -- Kathleen Wattis, actor
- How lucky were those eight students who poured out their creativity, only to have it elevated further by outstanding interpretation and emotional connection. You took each student and each work seriously, added your experience, insight, humor, and wonderful acting to give all of us an evening of entertainment. Thank you, Megan for how you encourage the creativity in each person (no matter how small), roll with the obstacles, remain positive, and trust that each one involved will bring their best -- and then they do!--Riki Bolster, co-founder
- As a musician, actor, and performer, there are rarely things I create that I'm very proud of. But this I am. Thanks for sharing your passion with me and telling me what my story meant to you. That meant a lot. -- Schyler Rowland, playwright
SPACE on Ryder Farm Family Residency
Megan helped to develop the foundation and structure for SPACE on Ryder Farm's Family Residency in 2015, and led the programming for 3 summers, from 2015-2017.
Now in its fourth year, SPACE on Ryder Farm’s Family Residency, in association with The Lilly Awards Foundation, provides a weeklong residency on the farm for working parents and their children. The Family Residency provides an artist-parent with structured time to create, while their child(ren) participate in nature-focused arts programming under the guidance and expertise of professional theatre educators. All family residents (parents and children) enjoy three communal farm-fresh meals daily. The residency culminates in short, informal sharings of the work accomplished by both parents and children while in residence at SPACE.
www.spaceonryderfarm.org/family-residency/
www.americantheatre.org/2015/12/09/how-theatres-are-supporting-worklife-balance/
Now in its fourth year, SPACE on Ryder Farm’s Family Residency, in association with The Lilly Awards Foundation, provides a weeklong residency on the farm for working parents and their children. The Family Residency provides an artist-parent with structured time to create, while their child(ren) participate in nature-focused arts programming under the guidance and expertise of professional theatre educators. All family residents (parents and children) enjoy three communal farm-fresh meals daily. The residency culminates in short, informal sharings of the work accomplished by both parents and children while in residence at SPACE.
www.spaceonryderfarm.org/family-residency/
www.americantheatre.org/2015/12/09/how-theatres-are-supporting-worklife-balance/
“My time at SPACE was one of the most productive and happy times in my life. The land is inspiring, the staff is extraordinarily kind and caring, and the ethos makes one want to move and stay all year long. SPACE is completely artist centered and the staff listens deeply to artists about what they need to thrive. The week I spent there was for parents and children, and was such a happy integration of my work and family life, It was more than a week of getting writing done—it was an experiment in how to live.”
- Sarah Ruhl, Family Residency '16
- Sarah Ruhl, Family Residency '16
Woodruff Arts Center -- Educator Conference Workshops
Learning Through a Theatrical Lens, 2017
Scientific Scenework: Animal, Molecule, Matter... Theater!, 2018
Devising Sustainably: How Recycled Materials Inspire Creativity, 2018
Scientific Scenework: Animal, Molecule, Matter... Theater!, 2018
Devising Sustainably: How Recycled Materials Inspire Creativity, 2018
Wake Forest University & Paisley Middle School, Winston-Salem, NC
Zara Aina, Madagascar
May, 2013
http://zaraaina.org/
In 2012-2013, Megan was the Director of Education for Zara Aina, a group of theatre artists that offers children in Madagascar the tools to succeed as students and story tellers by delivering school supplies to their villages and by producing their original works of theatre. Zara Aina brings street children of Antananarivo together with an international coalition of theatre professionals to create an original piece of physical theatre based in Malagasy folktales. This collaboration culminates in a tour of Madagascar, during which the children will deliver educational aid (notebooks, pens, and other sorely lacking supplies) and culturally relevant performances to communities in peril. By placing the children at the center of the creative process, Zara Aina seeks to amplify their means of expression, expand their potential for achievement, and improve their attitude towards learning.
In May 2013, Megan traveled with 10 other New York based artists to Madagascar to work with 14 children, ages 10-15. Over the course of 11 days, she helped the organization to gain its footing in the country and helped structure a curriculum and schedule in which these kids could create an original piece of theater, based on a Malagasy folktale.
In 2012-2013, Megan was the Director of Education for Zara Aina, a group of theatre artists that offers children in Madagascar the tools to succeed as students and story tellers by delivering school supplies to their villages and by producing their original works of theatre. Zara Aina brings street children of Antananarivo together with an international coalition of theatre professionals to create an original piece of physical theatre based in Malagasy folktales. This collaboration culminates in a tour of Madagascar, during which the children will deliver educational aid (notebooks, pens, and other sorely lacking supplies) and culturally relevant performances to communities in peril. By placing the children at the center of the creative process, Zara Aina seeks to amplify their means of expression, expand their potential for achievement, and improve their attitude towards learning.
In May 2013, Megan traveled with 10 other New York based artists to Madagascar to work with 14 children, ages 10-15. Over the course of 11 days, she helped the organization to gain its footing in the country and helped structure a curriculum and schedule in which these kids could create an original piece of theater, based on a Malagasy folktale.
International School of Zug and Luzern, Switzerland--- Dancemaking Workshop
August 2012
In the summer of 2012, Megan was invited by Alexis McGuinness, a drama teacher at the International School of Zug and Luzern, Switzerland, to visit and conduct a dancemaking workshop with her middle school students. Over the course of three days, Megan laid the groundwork for an extended movement/ choreography unit that Ms. McGuinness continued with her students after Megan's initial workshop. Eventually, their movement training aided them in the staging and dance sequences of their yearly musical theater production.
The workshop covered the basics of dance/movement/choreography.
BODY: Isolations, Shapes, Levels.
SPACE: Actions, Pathways, Spacial Relationships.
DANCE MAP: How to put all your shapes, actions and pathways together to document your choreography.
• How is movement expressed?
• How can movement help to communicate an idea or story?
• How can groups of people create a piece of movement that will aid in theatrical storytelling?
• At the end of the full movement unit, the students will have a Movement Vocabulary/Tool Kit, and will have created short duet pieces and an ensemble movement piece.
The workshop covered the basics of dance/movement/choreography.
BODY: Isolations, Shapes, Levels.
SPACE: Actions, Pathways, Spacial Relationships.
DANCE MAP: How to put all your shapes, actions and pathways together to document your choreography.
• How is movement expressed?
• How can movement help to communicate an idea or story?
• How can groups of people create a piece of movement that will aid in theatrical storytelling?
• At the end of the full movement unit, the students will have a Movement Vocabulary/Tool Kit, and will have created short duet pieces and an ensemble movement piece.
