377 Douglass Street #1B; Brooklyn, NY 11217 - 718-7891149 - dragonfrog@msn.com
Education: BFA in Drama (with honors) from New York University, 1989
Bilingual (English/German) Elementary and High School education in Berlin, Germany
Resident Artist with the Metropolitan Opera Guild Education Department (since 1990)
Responsible for teaching and co-creating and/or fostering the continued development of the following:
Curriculum Writing/Implementing: Cocreating and developing Creating Original Opera Curriculum
- Connecting theatre and music arts to Math/Spanish/English and Social Studies curriculums in Middle Schools and Elementary Schools in close collaboration with the teachers involved
Creating Original Opera: 10 week residencies in schools throughout the Greater Metropolitan Area
- Creating Opera Companies with 20 – 50 students (grades 3 to 8).
- Working as teacher, director, music director, script writing and composition teacher
- Training students in Company jobs: performers, writers, composers, production and stage -
managers, costume designers, make- up, public relations officers, historians, and others.
- Students create and then perform fully produced original 30 minute music theatre pieces.
- Conducted at least 30 Creating Original Opera (COO) Residencies over 13 years
Teacher Training Seminars: 8 day seminars conducted throughout the country and New York City
- Training teachers from the USA and Europe to mount COO in their schools.
- Teaching all aspects of COO process, in particular writing and composition.
- Teaching advanced courses to teachers returning for level 2 and level 3 training.
- Taught about 20 Seminars since 1994.
Sing/Speak/Play: teaching program for grades Pre-K through 2 focusing on vocal production, singing, diction, songwriting, cooperative play and language acquisition (since 1997).
The Brooklyn Children’s School: (since 1999) Primary Resident Artist working throughout the school year with teachers in the classroom integrating COO teaching techniques into the regular curriculum, training
teachers in COO & Sing/Speak/Play techniques in the process. Brooklyn Children’s School is an
immersion school integrating special needs students with the general population.
- Training teachers to mount 4th & 5th grade Original Opera projects.
- Creating 1st Grade Opera Projects (focusing on writing, composing and performing).
- Creating Kindergarten Fairy tale Musical Projects (focusing on original writing and composing)
- Creating Fourth/Fifth Grade Social Studies/Playwriting projects.
- Conducting Sing/Speak/Play in grades Pre-K, K and 2.
- choir director for grades 2-5; afterschool drama and musical writing teacher
Award: ASCAP foundation award for Composer-in-Residence at the Met Opera Guild.
Other teaching experience:
Resident Artist with Manhattan New Music Project (since 2001):
- Conducting workshops and In-School professional training for original musical projects (Creative Arts Initiative) in District 75
- Creating curriculum for year-long series of workshops integrating composition into music instruction
- Working with Music Teachers in District 75 to integrate composition in classrooms
- Conducted several teacher training workshops and worked 12 weeks in the classroom
High School Drama and Music Theater:
- International Schools’ Theatre Association (ISTA) festivals – teaching ensemble theatre
and vocal production in Europe and Asia (12 festivals 1986 - 1994).
- Berkshire Ensemble for Theatre Arts & ISTA Summer England– summer theatre camp
teacher, music director, counselor, composer (1986 - 1994).
Private Adult Tutoring:
- Beginner piano (since 2000) / Beginner and Conversational German (1986 – 2000)
Professional Performing Arts Experience: (request separate Actor and Composer resumes for details)
-Actor/Singer in Film, Television and Theatre in Europe, New York, and US/Asian tours.
- Composer of numerous produced music theatre pieces in Germany and New York.