Theater Educator

Moving at the speed of trust

Emma has been facilitating actor training since 2016 and has taught clowning workshops at SUNY Potsdam, SUNY Plattsburgh, as well as at New York Stage and Film’s Actor Apprentice Program at Powerhouse Theater. She has studied clowning under master teachers including Chris Bayes, David Shiner, Lucas Caleb Rooney, and Phillipe “The Tormentor” Gaulier. In 2014 she was a founding member of Clown Gym, a weekly actor-driven lab that still continues today in New York City. 

She was introduced to chakra work as a tool for actors through Beth McGuire’s voice and speech courses, where she was a teacher’s assistant for several years. She also has trained extensively in Lucid Body Technique under Fay Simpson at both The Studio/New York and Lucid Body House. This work was strengthened through her intensive and continued studies:

Passionate about bringing more clowning to teaching artistry and applied theater practices, Emma’s thesis work involved facilitating workshops for teaching artists to explore the topic of disability justice in their teaching practice. Recently, she has begun freelance consulting for theater programs around the Northeast. 

Currently, Emma is a faculty member in the Drama Department at The Brearley School in Manhattan, on the Education Committee for The Sharon Playhouse in Sharon, CT, and maintains her work as a freelance teaching artist and coach. She is a member of the New York State Theatre Education Association.

My Offerings

Through a rigorous and imaginative physical, vocal, and energetic exploration, my students uncover what makes them uniquely themselves, gain comfortability in a full bodied expression, and harness the power of their own creativity. I strive to help actors discover, through their own physical and energetic instrument, a journey to character that is respectful of both their own identity and that of whom they are working to embody. 

It is my goal to move at the speed of trust with my students to create a brave space, all the while instilling a strong technical foundation in the craft of acting. We track our progress through feedback, transparent dialogue, and self reflection. There will also be a healthy dose of fun (no seriously!)