During my twenty-two years as a teaching artist, I have collaborated with administrators, classroom teachers, librarians and teaching artists to get students out of their desks, working together to solve problems and actively exploring their core subjects. I enjoy using drama techniques like tableau and story drama to help deepen students' comprehension and connection to stories, concepts, facts and big ideas. Whether I am leading a kindergarten class on an imagination trip to the moon or guiding a group of 6th graders to visualize and physicalize a moment in history, my main goals are to increase literacy, strengthen the classroom community, build empathy and problem-solving skills, and make learning fun through drama. Available to conduct teacher workshops. Completed the Arkansas Arts Council's professional development workshop, Arts Inclusion: Engaging Special Needs Students in Your Residencies, presented by Richard Jenkins on May 19, 2012.

Kassie Misiewicz is a professional Theatre for Youth director and educator. She has developed innovative curriculum and taught teachers and students all over the United States. Kassie’s current teacher professional development workshops include: Developing Concentration and Cooperation Through Drama for grades 2nd-5th (developed in association with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts), Dramatic Storytelling in the Classroom (K-8th), Activating Arkansas History through Theatre (3rd-8th), Digital Storytelling (2nd-8th), Engaging Through Improv (5th-12th), Learning Through Theatre: Arts Integration 101 (PreK – 2nd), Puppets and Props (PreK-2nd). Kassie is the artistic director and founder of Trike Theatre, Northwest Arkansas professional theatre for youth. Before moving to Arkansas, Kassie was the director of Education Outreach at Seattle Children's Theatre and Associate Artistic Director at First Stage Children's Theatre. Kassie received her Masters of Fine Arts degree in Theatre for Young Audiences from Arizona State University and her BA in Theatre from the University of Notre Dame. She has taught and/or directed at University of Notre Dame, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Arizona State University, TheatreSquared, Walton Arts Center, Growing Stage Theatre for Young Audiences and the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival. She is a national arts integration consultant with Focus5 (www.artsintegrationconsulting.org) and a national Teaching Artist with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.