Megan Schutt Appointed First Folio's New Director of Educational Outreach

First Folio Theatre is happy to announce that Megan Schutt has been hired as Director of Educational Outreach. "She's a perfect fit for First Folio," said First Folio Artistic Director Alison Vesely. "She's got a wealth of experience and training in both theater performance and theater education. She's got all the tools necessary to integrate our live touring shows and our teacher training programs."

Megan will be tasked with expanding First Folio's educational programming, enabling the touring shows and classes to reach even wider audiences. In addition to being in charge of booking the touring shows, Megan will also be expanding the teacher training initiative, developing new programs for helping teachers learn how to integrate student performance into their classrooms. "Shakespeare, in particular, is so much clearer to students when they perform it in class, instead of simply reading it silently," said Megan. "But most teachers are hesitant to do that, because they lack the experience and training. First Folio's programs help them with specific lesson plans designed to make it easy to get their students up on their feet and enjoying the language of the Bard!"

Additionally, Megan will be working on helping create additional programs for the schools. First on her list is a series of programs using short plays to help students delve into the issue of multi-culturalism. "Students and teachers alike are struggling to find ways to understand the myriad backgrounds that now fill most classrooms. The shows we're developing will help provide a springboard for discussions of those issues. We'll present 3 or 4 short plays that all center around an issue such as, say, the role of the mother in the family. Each play will be based on an existing folk tale or modern short story from a different culture, chosen to illustrate that different cultures come at some of these issues from vastly different directions."

The Educational Outreach program will also be offering summer classes for students of all ages. The courses will take place on the grounds of the Mayslake Peabody Estate, giving students a chance to enjoy the outdoors at the same time they're exploring the world of drama and creating their own plays.

Miss Schutt received her MFA in Theater from Ohio State University, as well as a BFA in Theater from the University of Utah and training at the University of Cambridge. Her prior work in theater education includes teaching undergraduate courses at Ohio State and serving as a lead teacher with Lookingglass Theatre Company in Chicago, as well as in the University of Utah's Theater School for Youth.

The position of Director of Educational Outreach is underwritten by a grant from the DuPage Community Foundation. The Foundation was created to benefit the people of DuPage County and receives contributions and bequests into a permanent endowment from individuals, corporations, organizations and foundations wishing to make lasting contributions to the people of DuPage.

First Folio's Educational Outreach program has been an integral part of the theater's mission from its founding in 1996. To date, First Folio touring shows have reached over 125,000 students throughout the state of Illinois. Further information on First Folio's educational outreach programs can be found on its website at www.firstfolio.org.

First Folio's Educational Outreach program is supported in part by a grant from the DuPage Community Foundation.