WHO ARE WE? Part IV - Education Team

It was so good to see you all at the Student Activities Fair today! You probably met a lot of the board, but now get some more details on our Education Team!

Also, we look forward to seeing at Student Theatre Info Night tonight at 8:30PM in Fisk 217!

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Name:  Robyn Char

Position on PCP:  Education Director

Year in School / Major:  2012 / Theatre

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor:  Blackberry

Favorite TYA Play or Musical:  Tale of a West Texas Marsupial Girl by Lisa D'Amor

Why You Joined PCP:  I believe that in college, your world should never stop growing.  With Purple Crayon Players, I interact not only with some pretty cool theatre students, but also other campus groups, the Evanston comunity, schools throughout Chicago, passionate artists across the country, and beyond!  The work (and play!) that PCP does is a celebration of imagination, exploration, and collaboration.  By creating and facilitating Theatre for Young Audiences, we invite the youngest generation to engage in their world imaginatively, passionately, and thoughtfully.  The only thing as beautiful as a child at play is an adult rediscovering how to play, and as a member of Purple Crayon Players, I get to see them both!

Name:  Allison Finn

Position on PCP:  Education Director

Year in School / Major:  2012 / Theatre and International Studies, Creative Writing for the Media

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor:  Mango with hot fudge from Toscanini's in Boston (Go there.  It's worth a pilgrimage!)

Favorite TYA Play or Musical:  The Yellow Boat by David Saar

Why You Joined PCP:  I, like seemingly every other theatre freshman, had worked at arts summer camps and taught youth theatre in high school.  I knew that theatre education was something I wanted to explore in college, but wasn't sure how, especially since I had so many other diverse interests.  I decided that I would devote freshman year to branching out and trying new things, so I jumped at the chance to produce Purple Crayon Players' first annual PLAYground festival in the spring, even though I never dreamed of producing before and was probably woefully under-qualified.  PCP somehow decided that they could entrust Alyssa Ramos and I with the festival of new Theatre for Young Audiences plays and the professional playwrights that went with them.  It ended up being the most rewarding experience I'd ever had in the theatre - and I realized that I'd found both my group of people and a way to combine my passions for theatre education and community outreach with my interest in learning how theatre companies run.  The last two years have challenged me in the best possible way, given me a community, and proved that I made the right choice.

One Piece of Advice for Freshmen at NU:  Create your own definition of success.  This is an incredible place with a wealth of opportunities, but it can get competitive and it sometimes seems that you have to follow a certain path to be successful.  Ignore that.  Explore diverse interests and don't play it safe.  Success isn't necessarily getting a lead role or landing a spot in this or that group.  It's your experience and that's all that matters.

Name:  Dana O'Brien

Position on PCP:  Education Director

Year in School / Major:  2012 / Theatre

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor:  Chocolate with Toffee Pieces in it

Favorite TYA Play or Musical:  I'm going to cheat at this one a little by saying Remember Me Like This by the Albany Park Theater Project, which blew my mind and restored any faith I might ever potentially lose in the power of young people to create incredible, world-changing art.

Why You Joined PCP:  I love teaching, and I've always been really interested in pedagogy and education policy.  Purple Crayon is a group of some of the most intelligent, thoughtful, kind, committed, fun and innovative people I have ever met, and I was extremely intrigued and excited by PCP's work with theatre for young audiences.  Needless to say, I wanted to be a part of all that, and working with the education team has been one of the most fulfilling and productive things I've done at Northwestern, and has taught me more than I ever thought it would about life and kids and theatre and myself.