Bio

For the last eight years Joelle Ré Arp-Dunham served as the Producing Artistic Director of The Circle Ensemble Theatre Company, a professional nonprofit theatre in Northeast Georgia. In addition, she is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Theatre & Performance Studies at the University of Georgia. Her 25 –plus years of experience include directing, acting and media design throughout the east coast. Joelle has been a professional theatre and film educator teaching preschoolers through senior citizens at places such as SUNY Stony Brook, University of Georgia, Grandparents Living Theatre and Buck's Rock Arts Camp. Arp-Dunham received her M.F.A. in Dramatic Media with a Directing Emphasis from the University of Georgia, and her B.F.A. in Acting from The Ohio State University. As a director, actor, media designer and educator in both theatre and film, her primary area of research is how the cognitive sciences may lead to new pedagogical strategies in Directing and Acting. Other interests include the intersections between theatre, film and performance media, non-western theatre techniques and theory, and audience response theory.