Amy Ackerman
I am a creative arts practitioner, program educator and actress. I have worked as a teaching artist with young people facilitating theatre workshops and interactive storytelling. As a dancer I have worked with dancers with disabilities and performed with the Olimpias Collective at Judson Church. I am a company member of Honest Accomplice Theatre, a queer devising ensemble whose work centers on the experience of women and trans folks. Since September we have been developing , She's got a Chip on her Shoulder, a docudrama about women and transpeople in STEM fields. I run group theatre sessions, have worked as a program assistant for educational programs, teach expressive movement and somatic practice, and art model for figure drawing classes. Catch me Monday nights singing around the Piano at Club Cumming in the East Villege.
Professional Info
I wear many hats. I am an educator, a teaching artist, an actress, dancer and singer. I like creating theatre from the ground up and engaging in creative collaborative projects with folks who may or may not have a lot of experience with theatre and dance. As an educator, I strive to center my students and engage them in their own process of learning so that it might be meaningful and empowering. As a facilitator, I create container where people can feel safe to take creative risks. I have worked with young people (from pre K, to high school aged), folks with disabilities, special needs students, and the LGBTQ Community. My Art practice is rarely neutral and I am fascinated by how performance modes engage people through community and collaboration.
Work Experience
Nanny
2017- present
I pick up and hang with a really extraordinary young woman, I supervise and encourage homework study time, I cook and prep lunch, some light housework. I help mange schedule and take her to various appointments. I ask her lots of questions and try to set her up for success! Sometimes things get silly.
Head Counselor at Bank Street on Broadway
Summer 2017
I co/ran a 10 week theatre program for young people in second and third grade.Taught theatre skills and led activities that generated content for an original production. Supported campers in their ideas and artistic visions and cultivated an inclusive creative laboratory.
Program Assistant for Young Adult Literacy Program at CAT
2015 - 2016
I assisted the Young Adult Literacy Program director with professional development and workshops, and provided administrative support for the program at the Creative Arts Team (CAT).
Education
CUNY School of Professional Studies. MA Applied Theatre.
I am currently pursuing my Masters in Applied Theatre at CUNY where my research focuses on Centering the body in Applied Theatre and Dance and Disability. I have learned a lot through this program and it has helped me to develop and define my teaching practice. Some classes I have taken are creative play making, theatre in education, educational theories and community performance.
University of California, Berkeley. B.A. Performance Studies & Sociology
I majored in Theatre and Performance studies and Sociology, I very much feel like Sociology informs my Theatre practice. I took classes that looked at performance as a mode of social change and studied theatre of the oppressed work and interactive theatre. I was a part of the Urban Bush Women Leadership Institute Residency which resulted in an original performance piece about food justice entitled From the Field to the Table. I also took many dance classes and my undergraduate thesis research was on performance as embodied empowerment.
In addition to my studies I was active in the queer community, and created educational and social programs with and for the LBGTQ Community at Berkeley.
Skills
Great with kids
Experience working with special needs students
Puppet Construction
Knowledge of sustainable waste reduction systems.
Gardening
Adaptive Yoga teacher
Dialects: Southern, Brittish, Cockney