Natalie Sowell, associate professor of theatre, specializes in theatre for young audiences, creative drama, storytelling, and theatre for social change.
She received a B.S. in biology from Creighton University, a M.F.A. in theatre for youth from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and is a trained Theatre of the Oppressed practitioner. She has taught numerous creative drama and theatre workshops in schools, prisons, community centers, and churches throughout the U.S. and in Nigeria and served as artistic director of UJIMA YOUTHEATRE for seven years. Her areas of interest include critical pedagogy and liberatory education, diversity and interculturalism in theatre for young audiences, arts integration, multicultural critical literacy, and African American theatre. In her spare time, Sowell works as a professional storyteller and diversity in education consultant.
Recent and Upcoming Courses
- Classroom Drama
This course focuses on strategies and techniques for teaching creative drama and theatre with young people in primary and secondary school settings including afterschool programming. Throughout the semester we will answer questions such as - What tools and skills are required to design and implement theatre curriculum? How is youth theatre implemented in schools? How can reader's theatre and oral interpretation of literature be utilized in classrooms? In addition, students in this course will focus on building their facilitation skills and establishing their teaching philosophy. The intersections of critical pedagogy and creative pedagogy will be central to this component of the course. Community engaged learning experiences will provide practical examples of theatre education in action. Prerequisite: Some coursework in theatre and/or education.
- Special Projects
