Educational Background/Training
BA Theater: Morgan State University, MA Arts Administration: University of Central Florida
About the Artist/Ensemble
Khaleshia Thorpe-Price is the Owner and Master Teaching Artist of Dramatic Play. She has worked in the field of arts education for over 20 years and is a versatile creator and educator. She aims to dazzle participants with her love of play and creative exploration.
Khaleshia is the Maryland Director for Teaching Artists of the Mid-Atlantic (TAMA), a network that advocates for, empowers, and supports Teaching Artists throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
Educational Program Description
Tiny Playwrights (1-5)
Participants will actively explore the elements of drama while using 21st Century Skills and build ensemble and community in the classroom. They will collaborate creatively and use critical thinking and problem-solving skills while learning performance strategies aligned with classroom content. They will use props and graphic organizers to collaboratively create an original story with a beginning, middle, and end. Students will then add dialogue to transform their story into a play. Participants will use story elements: character, setting, conflict resolution, and playwriting elements of dialogue, antagonist, and protagonist.
Imagine and Play Storytime: Anansi and the Magic Rock
(PK/K) A Trickster Tale Anansi and the Magic Rock is an interactive performance for young audiences. The experience begins with students warming up their actor’s tools to prepare for performance (body, voice, imagination, ensemble). Then, imaginary travel is used to transport the participants to the African Savanna. Once there, they meet Anansi the Spider. Anansi has a story to tell and needs help telling his story. Participants are taught a series of repeated actions throughout the story to keep everyone actively engaged.
Imagine and Play Storytime: First Class Postal Adventure
(PK/K) A Movement Story Imagine delivering mail to animals in their natural habitats. Participants will use their imaginations to go on an imaginary journey with Ms. Khaleshia. They will travel into the forest, high above the tree tops, swamp, and deep into the coral reef. How will they get there? What will they see? Join us on this adventure as we deliver mail to the most unlikely places. Participants will learn about postal workers, animal habitats, and animal characteristics and practice sequencing and recalling the story.
Architects of Writing and Performance: Devised Theater and Playbuilding for the Classroom (5th-12th) Workshop participants will explore and engage in various writing styles and theatrical skills while building an ensemble and creating a collaborative performance piece. The residency series will be based on a theme set by the ensemble and approved by the classroom teacher. The teaching artist will guide the students through writing and dramatic experiences centered on the theme to create performance material.
Creating a Narrative: Original Writing Monologue and Performance (grades 3-12)
Participants will explore and experience multiple theater-based strategies that will differentiate the pre-writing activities and the overall narrative writing process as we create, refine, and perform original monologues.
Finding Your Voice: Acting and Public Speaking (Grades 5-12)
Participants will be taught how to use their actor’s toolbox and oratory skills to learn and perform monologues, excerpts from historical speeches, and quotes. They will gain the knowledge and skills to speak comfortably and confidently on and off the stage.
Audiences
- All Ages