LINDA AMES KEY

DIRECTOR, EDUCATOR (646) 552-5502 ameskey@aol.com www.lindaameskey.com

 EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

Pedagogical Core at City College//Educational Theatre Program: Curriculum & Instruction, Human Development and Learning and Inclusive Practices in the Arts; Adjunct Faculty at Syracuse University (SUPA program) in Entrepeneurship and Presentational Speaking;  M.A. in Applied Theatre, City University of New York (CUNY) School for Continuing and Professional Studies, 2012; B.S. in Performance Studies; Northwestern University, Evanston Illinois, 1985; Apprentice, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, 1987.

 PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE AND CERTIFICATES, CONSULTANCIES

Transitional “A” Certification, CTE Drama Grades 7-12; WBL Certification #8982 Coordinator of Work-Based Learning Programs for Career Development, Buffalo State University; Arts Administration Certificate, New York University, New York, New York, 1992; New York Literary Liaison- State Theater of South Australia, Melbourne Theatre Company, Australia, and Mannie Manim Productions, South Africa, 1994-2000.

AWARDS

Arthur Miller Foundation Award for Excellence in Arts Education, 2022

TONY Award: Excellence in Theatre Education Honorable Mention 2019

 PROFESSIONAL TRAVEL

 PROJECT RWANDA 2011 & 2013: CUNY Delegation to Kigali, Rwanda at Kigali Institute of Education: Conducted workshops with Level 1 and 2 theatre teachers; Applied Theatre workshops at two high schools in Nyanza and Byumba; Professional development workshops with secondary school teachers at Imena Cultural Club.  

 EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL: TRANS SCRIPTS 2015 (Fringe First Winner, Honorable Mention Amnesty International Award); Led 4 student delegations from 2000-2006: Directed productions of SHAKESPEARE REDUX, THE LARAMIE PROJECT (Fringe First Winner and London Transfer), BANG BANG, YOU’RE DEAD (Fringe First Winner) and TWILIGHT LOS ANGELES, 1992; Directed, produced and chaperoned 24 students and 3 additional staff members.

 COCHRANE THEATRE LONDON: Revived Edinburgh Production of LARAMIE in London for month of March 2003; Directed and produced show; Chaperoned student delegation; Facilitated post-show workshops and talk backs with British high schools.

 ADELAIDE FRINGE FESTIVAL: Brink Theatre Productions grant to visit this South Australian theatre; Implemented strategies to strengthen board participation; Explored theatre’s funding structures and identified funding opportunities.

 PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

FORDHAM HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS: SEPT 2015-PRESENT CTE DRAMA TEACHER: Teach Drama to over 100 students Grades 9-12; Direct Fall Play and Spring Musical; WBL Coordinator.. Manage cultural partnerships with Roundabout Theatre Company, New York Theatre Workshop, Hook n’ Eye Theatre, CTE ISP; Run Work Based Learning Program and place interns in 8 partner sites.

WBL SUMMER MONITOR 2017, 2018: Visited multiple internship sites (Futures & Options) to interview students and site monitors and report on safety of site, as well as reflect and record Work Based Learning Skills, coordinated payroll and time sheets, interacted with site monitors to schedule visits and check on interns’ progress.

VITAL THEATRE COMPANY:2007-2015: DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION: Hire, train and observe teaching artists; Design and implement residencies; Create school-wide arts integration models; Oversee high school interns through the Work Based Learning (WBL) program; design WBL student and host assessments; Consult on script development for all family programming; Write all the Foundation, Government, Corporate and Arts-in-Education grants; Design, oversee and implement six week-long performance camps for Vital; Train counselors and high school interns; Manage long-term partnerships with PS 6, PS 24, PS 166, PS 199, PS 452, Bronxdale High School, Fordham High School for the Arts and Brooklyn Theatre Arts High School; At Brooklyn Theatre Arts High School, where Vital is Lead Partner, worked with Principal Coren and Artistic Director Stephen Sunderlin to apply to New Visions and Department of Education to start the new school; Served on 18D and C-30 Hiring Committees for six years; Met with teachers and teaching artists to brainstorm arts integration push ins; Organize and run professional developments for teachers and teaching artists during special BTA retreats; Work with consultant Anne Rhodes to create ESP partnership retreat; Created partnerships with LEAP, TDF Stage Doors, American Place Theatre, Second Stage Theatre and Tectonic Theatre Project; From September 2011- May 2012, oversaw and facilitated School Construction Authority (SCA) and their $1 million renovation of Brooklyn Theatre Arts’ dilapidated auditorium which included the replacement of ancient electrics, lighting, sound and projection equipment.

 LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY: 2007: Theatre Arts Integration, Summer Course for DOE Teachers. Designed and taught theatre arts integration  curriculum.

 FORDHAM HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS, South Bronx: September, 2008- 2015,  ARTS CONSULTANT: Meet once per week with all five certified arts teachers in all five arts majors re: scope and sequence, creation of arts partnerships, grant opportunities and residencies; Create a support structure for faculty during production weeks; Keep all  Creative Arts Team minutes; Write grants and proposals; Maintain program requirements and oversight of WBL and LEARN program funds; Facilitated Phase One and Two of a four-phase plan for construction of a black box in the basement of Theodore Roosevelt Campus; Worked with SCA and custodial to finish project; Wrote, received and implemented  a Lowe’s Toolbox for Education grant for a “Living Museum” in Fordham Arts’  hallways; Wrote Namm Disney grant, NEA Library Grant, Muzak Foundation, Arts Horizon’s ‘Melody” Grant, Parents as Arts Partners Grants; Identified and supported partnerships with Carnegie Hall (Bernstein Project with Vocal Music teacher), Visual Arts Art Auction (with Visual Arts Teacher), LEAP (August Wilson Monologue Competition and Fidelity Future Stages), TDF Stage Doors and Impact Broadway; oversaw implementation of Renzulli Learning System and Enrichment Cluster teaching in ELA and Math.

 VITAL THEATRE COMPANY, 2003-Through September 2007, PRODUCING DIRECTOR: Board liaison; Created all Board documents; Oversaw company budget; Read scripts; Aided in choosing of season; Facilitated long-term planning for the company; Organized and ran two company retreats per year; Co-produced shows, both family programming and mainstage; Identified and wrote all company grants; Grants written and received: NYSCA (Professional Performances), Robert Sterling Clark for Marketing, Edith Blum, Axe Houghton, American Theater Wing, Department of  Cultural Affairs, Leon Lowenstein, Parents as Arts Partners; Curated and produced the company’s Vital Signs: New Works Festival, a festival of new short plays by new and emerging writers, in 2005, 2006 & 2007.

 GREENWICH ACADEMY, Connecticut, 1995-2006, HEAD OF UPPER SCHOOL DRAMA (P/T): Designed and built a drama program at my alma mater; Consulted on the design and building of the theatre of a $12 million dollar performing arts facility; Taught acting, directing and musical theatre classes; Hiring of guest artists; Coordinated and coached for Shakespeare monologue competition at Brunswick School and Greenwich Academy (4 State Winners); Produced annual fundraising benefit for Edinburgh that raised $30,000 per year; Directed and produced two mainstage productions per year and two to four students directed cabarets; Produced, designed and co-taught a summer youth camp for 4-10 year olds and coordinated budgeting; Chaperoned, directed and produced  a trip to Edinburgh Festival Fringe every two years 2000-2004; Coordinated program with administration and staff of  adjacent boy’s school The Brunswick School.

 SIX FIGURES THEATRE COMPANY 1991-1996, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: Developed and produced new plays by women; Applied for, was granted and renovated Six Figures’ current space at St. Paul’s and St. Andrew’s; Produced annual dinner benefit and silent auction at West Bank Café raising $25,000 per year; Founded the “Artists of Tomorrow” Festival, which creates opportunities for emerging women artists to develop new work; Produced readings, AEA showcases and/or workshops by such writers as Victoria Libertore, Maria Morrett, Robin Moran Miller, Katt Lissard, Andria Laurie, Suzanne Bradbeer, Vicki Caroline Cheatwood, Sherry Kramer, Kate Aspengren and Rosary O’Neill

 WATERMARK THEATRE 1990-1991, MANAGING DIRECTOR: Produced and co-curated Watermark’s Wordfire Festival under auspices of Vineyard’s Space Grant; Presented new and developing works by such artists as David Cale, Dael Orlandersmith, Miriam Cyr, Barbara Pitts and Linda Mancini.

 RELATED EXPERIENCE:

Have taught directing and acting at Rutgers, Calhoun School,  Alchemy Theatre Company, Boarshead Theatre,  Manhattan Country School, Dreamcatcher Conservatory and Academy for Film and Television (Emotional Preparation- Ruth Nerken Sub); Teaching Artist for The Knowledge Project (PS 151, Queens),  Kalamazoo School District Playwriting Project; Script Reader for Flora Roberts Agency, Epoch Films, Helen Harvey Associates, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Boarshead Theatre, Pachyderm Entertainment, Producer Tim Childs, Arden Theatre Company; Development Associate for Jim Freydberg Associates.

 CONFERENCES:

AATE National Conference in Washington July 2013 “Liberty & Justice For All-Exploring History and Advocacy through Process Drama”; ATHE Conference in Orlando August 2013; Museum of the City of New York ‘Teaching Social Activism in the Classroom” 2012 and Face 2 Face Arts in Education Conference 2011: Presented a Theatre in Education (TIE) piece//Process Drama entitled “Liberty and Justice For All” which teaches history of Japanese internment and Applied Theatre techniques to arts educators; Poverty Initiative’s January Immersion 2011: Presented three Applied Theatre workshops and a TIE  piece entitled “The Unanswerable Challenge”  that explored the historical events within the Abolition Movement and efforts to end slavery as a way to examine the organizations movement to end poverty; Peer to peer facilitator for New York State Council on the Arts Empire State Partnership retreat, offering guidance to public school arts faculty at newly formed small public schools.

COMMITTEES AND AFFILIATIONS

IAAP Working Group –New York State Education Department, Blue Ribbon Commission New York State Education Department, Board Member, Development Co- Chair New York City Arts in Education Roundtable; Affiliated Artist at New Georges; Skills Lab NYC Project Lead 2017, 2018; Arthur Miller Fellow 2016, 2017, 2018; Blue Ribbon Commission on the Arts; Fulbright Specialist in Applied Theatre from 2012-2017; Fulbright Specialist Peer Reviewer 2018 & 2020; National Arts Strategies Fellowship for Creative Alliances Conference in Miami Florida; Theatre Communications Group Travel Grant for Theatre Communications Group’s (TCG) Annual Conference in Chicago; New York State Council on the Arts NYSCA Empire State Partnership School-Wide Planning & Implementation Grant; TAP grant towards the creation of an ETSL template based on Global Studies Curriculum.

 GRANT PANELS:

Nancy Quinn Fund Grant panelist for Alliance of Resident Theatres New York, 2007 & 2008; New York State Council on the Arts Panelist, Arts in Education, 2009 

LINDA AMES KEY

DIRECTOR

TRANS SCRIPTS (Fringe First Winner)       Paul Lucas                                Edinburgh Festival Fringe

NO EXIT                                                   Jean Paul Sartre                        The Pearl Theatre Company

PROJECT RWANDA 2011 & 2013              Devised Theater                        Kigali Institute of Education

THE BULLY                                               Gregor/Williams                        Vital Theatre Company

VELMA GRATCH                                      Elliott/Larsen                          Vital Theatre Company

THE KLEZMER NUTCRACKER                Kushner/Shirim                          Vital Theatre Company

YOU MISS THEM WHEN THEY’RE NOT AROUND                            Suzanne Bradbeer                       Dreamcatcher Rep, NJ  

(TOOTH) FAIRY TALE (2007 &2012)            Flores/Winters                           Vital Theatre Company

MY NEW YORK                                           Flores/Jablonski                        Vital Theatre Company             

365 Plays/365 Days: Week 36                       Susan Lori Parks                        The Public

NIGHTS AT CIRCUS by Angela Carter       Carla Cantrelle                           FringeNYC

TWILIGHT LOS ANGELES: 1992               Anna Deavere Smith                  Edinburgh Fringe Festival

FULL BLOOM                                               Suzanne Bradbeer                      Vital Theatre Company

NIGHTS AT THE CIRCUS                           Angela Carter/Carla Cantrelle                FringeNYC

ANTON IN SHOW BUSINESS                    Jane Martin                                 Dreamcatcher Rep

DEGAS IN NEW ORLEANS                        Rosary O’Neill                           E.S.T.’s  Octoberfest

BANG BANG YOU’RE DEAD (Fringe First Winner 2004)                      William Mastrosimone               Edinburgh Fringe Festival

REMEMBER THE DREAM                          Carla Jablonski                           Ellis Island Foundation                 

MY WIFE’S COAT                                         Kellie Overbey                           Vital Theatre Company                 

THE LARAMIE PROJECT                            Moises Kaufman/Tectonic         Cochrane Theater, London                       

THE LARAMIE PROJECT (Fringe First Winner 2002)   “           “                            Edinburgh Festival Fringe

ALISON’S HOUSE                                          Susan Glaspell                            Mint Theatre Company                

EMBRACING FREEDOM                              Nick Van Hoogstraten                Ellis Island Foundation

THREE DAYS OF RAIN                              Richard Greenberg                     Dreamcatcher Rep, NJ

EXCUSE  MY DUST (Director/Co-Adaptor)         Linda Key/Barbara Pitts                   Adirondack Thtr. Fest.

BETHLEHEM                                                Suzanne Bradbeer                        Vital Theatre Co.

PROOF/CRIMES OF THE HEART/BLOWN SIDEWAYS     Auburn/Henley/Shear             Milllbrook Playhouse

GIRL TALK                                                   Kellie Overbey                            ArcLight Theatre w/ Jessica Hecht, Elizabeth Marvel   

LIVING IN EXILE                                         Jon Lipsky                                   College of the Atlantic, ME                                 

178 HEAD                                                      C. Denby Swanson                       The Drilling Co.

LONE STAR GRACE                                     Suzanne Bradbeer                         Six Figures

PAINTING CHURCHES                               Tina Howe                                    Dreamcatcher Rep

OF SLEEP AND SHADOW                          Peter Barnes                                 Mint Theatre

ONE MOLECULE                                           Jane Shepard                                Six Figures

CLOWNING THE BARD                             Creator                                          Six Figures/FringeNYC

GIANTS HAVE US IN THEIR BOOKS       Jose Rivera                                   Thoughts Modern Fest

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Assistant Director to John Patrick Shanley,

FOUR DOGS AND A BONE, Manhattan Theatre Club

Assistant Director to David Rabe

THOSE THE RIVER KEEPS, Promenade Theatre

HIGH SCHOOL PRODUCTIONS: ONCE ON THIS ISLAND, THE CRUCIBLE, FAME JR., OUR TOWN, THE TROJAN WOMEN. A CHORUS LINE, MACBETH, EVITA, IN THE HEIGHTS, SCARED SILLY,

27 WAYS TO RUIN YOUR COLLEGE INTERVIEW, INTO THE WOODS, THE STORY, MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, OTHELLO, GUYS AND DOLLS, THE SOUND OF MUSIC, QUILTERS,