Writing
I specialize in creating dynamic and engaging content that brings topics to life. I have extensive experience in writing content and developing interactive concepts for theater and museum-level imaginative programs and immersive, story-based experiences.
My writing experience distills large concepts and spans many topics and experiential formats, including activities, digital interactives, lesson plans, games, books, plays, educator training, and marketing. I use my teaching and design abilities to make the ideas come to life through live performance, interactive modalities, graphics, and fabrication.
Interpretive Programming and Immersive Theater
As the founder and creative director of arts education companies, I've curated informational content for lessons while directing educational programs. Initially, themes featured the cultural arts of over 90 countries, national parks, music of the last 50 years, greek mythology, recycling, space, circus, zoology, and history. Each package included introductory and break-out information, videos, photographs, and interactive, participatory programming based on art, movement, and drama.
In Lola's Lab, where I spent eight years developing immersive collaborative arts programming, the objectives and the scope became wider. I created inclusive themes that promoted positive values and problem-solving through engaging narratives. Over eight years, I wrote and produced 40 immersive plays paired with curriculum and training materials for Lola's Lab. Stories took place over 1 -5 days, staging 2 acts daily. In 2018 I licensed 2 of these week-long plays to Encore Theater in Virginia. I also presented one of the plays in a short 1-hour format at the National Children's Museum.
Lola's Lab won audience favorite awards in 2016 and 2017. More about Lola's Lab content can be seen here.
Captain Kaleidoscope:
In my multidisciplinary writing, I curate ideas, research topics, merge modalities and conceptualize ways to internalize messaging and information better. I merge information, story concepts, and gamified missions to make information easier to recall. The breaking of the fourth wall humanizes the content with a dramatic appeal and creates a more personal relationship that helpes audiences confidently engage and become heroes.
In the example above, I researched and connected the scientific information about the color spectrum with an immersive adventure that sailed kids to a rainbow through an overarching story about the importance of color and diversity. Together, they left on an imaginative adventure to bring back color to the Island of Black and White. Above, Captain Kaleidoscope explains the mission to the island's inhabitants. The other citizens in the town have drawn in black and white and hung on chairs for the "town meeting."
Interactive Books, Videos and More
Superoink takes readers to the county fair to tell the tale of a stolen pie, a super fast pig, and how creativity saves the day.
Zoopossible: Royal Kingdom tells the tale of a selfish Princess who comes to live in a sustainable Kingdom. Published by Createspace in 2015
.
Content development also included a "party pack" with illustrated engagement activities for small groups of up to 10 kids..
I've written and illustrated 2 interactive books and paired them with activity content. Both have been previously written as immersive plays and performed numerous times with live audiences.
My first book “Zoopossible Royal Kingdom, (42 pgs.) was published on Amazon in 2013.
The second, Super Oink, (80 pgs.) is finished. I'm currently seeking an agent for this project.
Museum Content (Physical and Digital)
I enjoyed creating museum proposals and aspects of exhibition content through interpretation and design. You can explore one of these projects here.
What I love about museum content is the variety of ways to explore ideas. As we use more technology, the need to humanize experiences becomes more important. Good interpretive content is essential to do that.
I like to imagine the content and create the flow of the interactive discovery through initial ideas and wireframe sketches. Then I work through the development of the ideas with the technology team to achieve the right tone and level of creativity that keeps the audience engaged. I align the digital experiences to "the best practice pillars" I formed while working with live audiences. Though audiences are different, the spirit of informal educational entertainment is the same.
Opening Ceremonies and Extravaganzas
In 2004 I co-wrote and designed the opening ceremonies for VSA at the Kennedy Center, which celebrates international creative artists with disabilities. I structured the show with pockets for acts couched inside an overarching story about a crayon that brought color to everything it touched and included acts from dance to instrumental to live art-making on stage.
Parade Formats
I've also written and designed large public-format projects. Sometimes I see the imagery in my mind first, draw it and then write it. Sometimes I write it all out first, then bring it to life with illustrations and ideas for engineering, lighting, music and more.
Waking is an example of one such project. It's a "Musical Dream Parade" that rolls by an audience for a world expo-type outdoor performance. I have also broken this format down into bite-size segments to become non-linear performances. The theme explores introspection, faith, and celestial myth. In the play, Henry, the protagonist, wanders through a dreamland. As he encounters and explores his fears, he unlocks others similarly trapped by illusions. Explore the writing here.