Theatre Director, Scholar, Playwright and
Community Engagement Specialist
Career
Social Justice Curricula
As Theatre Program Coordinator with a history of curriculum development and artistic direction, Tara has revamped theatre curricula at two higher ed institutions and advised redevelopment for other institutions to reflect a stronger foundational base of knowledge for students to graduate as artist community advocates and empathic beings.
CHildren's Theatre
A long time believer in the power of theatre to grow a child's self-confidence, collaborative mindset, and empathic perspective, Tara started teaching at age 15 at Theatre Arts, Inc. in Oklahoma, founded her own summer musical theatre program Music Box Review in Tulsa, developed a thriving training school at Riverside Theatre Works, and ran her own children's theatre company and school South Shore School of Theatre Works. She was board president of Consortium of Boston Area Children's Theatres through which she consulted with children's theatre directors and founders on how to grow and meet family needs through local theatre.
REsearch and Scholarship
Holding a PhD in Theatre and Performance Studies from Tufts University, and a Masters in Theatre Education from Emerson College, she is ongoing contributor to HowlRound Theatre Commons; holds professional affiliations with Association for Theatre in Higher Education, American Association for Theatre Educators, Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival; has presentations at various conferences and spoken at Northwestern University, Villanova University, Tufts University, Salve Regina University, and Eastern Nazarene College. She is on the board of True Story Theatre, a playback theatre company and Japan America Society of Rhode Island. Her research focuses on race and gender equity in theatre.
Discover Theatre Arts at Salve Regina University
Tara has several years of experience developing innovative theatre curriculum. She moves beyond traditional production work on stage and into studying and introducing theatre to the larger university-based community through a "history from below" approach to dramatic literature, social justice community engagement work off-campus, and free performances in non-traditional theatre spaces. She emphasizes equity through these methods, but also through regular auditions workshops, introducing terms, concepts, and approaches to the audition process in an attempt to make theatre more accessible. This began through the training at Riverside Theatre Works, and she later designed a Theatre for Social Justice curriculum at Eastern Nazarene College and revamped the curriculum with a mercy-centered focus at Salve Regina University
ALL Friends Cabaret welcomes South Shore School of Theatre
Tara Brooke Watkins founded South Shore School of Theatre in 2010 in Quincy, MA. It started out as a summer musical theatre program and developed into a year-long acting, tech, dance, and musical theatre training school for students ages seven and up. SSST is home to approximately 150 students. It offers production classes for youth and teens, beginner acting and dancing for adults, leadership opportunities for teens, and internships for college students majoring in theatre.
As a contributor to Howlround Theater Commons, Tara Brooke Watkins addresses topics that fall within the scope of gender and race equity on stage and in performance. She will be published in the upcoming Routledge book on Race and Applied Theatre, edited by Drs. Lisa Biggs and Eunice Ferreira.
