Elizabeth London, a professional actor, director, and teaching artist, is a long-time collaborator with Theatre for a New Audience’s education programs. This is her fourth year teaching with the World Theatre Project, and third summer with both the Drama Studio of the Summer Institute and the Shakespeare Fellows program for public school teachers.
Elizabeth’s favorite teaching story comes from her first year with the Theatre. She was working with a ninth grade class on Coriolanus, a particularly difficult text. One student, known for her extreme shyness, wrote a beautiful sonnet from the point of view of Coriolanus’ mother, and later surprised her teachers and peers by choosing to present it in the year-end assembly, where selected students showcase their pieces. The work gave her the confidence to act and she performed with strong voice and clear emotions. She was held as a shining example to the class, and Elizabeth has strived to inspire her students in the same way ever since.