"The Fun is in the Work: How Theatre Education Promotes Citizenship & Personal Growth"

Join Kami as she interviews special guest Pollyanna Parker about all the many resources she has learned from TAA year-round programs over the years and how they shaped her career as a theatre educator. This time of reflection will surely refresh your focus as you finish up a year of lasting connections made in your arts classrooms! Pollyanna Parker is an experienced educator with more than three decades of service in the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System, where she has taught Theatre, Speech, English, Video Production, and Journalism. A dedicated mentor and leader, she has directed numerous theatrical productions, coached award-winning speech and debate teams, and sponsored a range of student organizations, including the yearbook, student council, and Beta Club. Parker graduated from Austin Peay State University with concentrations in Theatre, K–12 Education, Speech, and English 7–12. She has also served for over thirty years as a TAA theatre facilitator, and currently supports the TAA participants as Assistant Theatre Director. She is also the TAA Communications Coordinator and works closely with the on-campus housing teams at Middle Tennessee State University. She is an advocate for arts education in her community and statewide. Recently, she worked hard to get her alma mater's theatre named for her former professors, turned longtime friends, Sarah and Mike Gotcher. Nowadays, when she’s not working hard for the Tennessee Arts Academy, she enjoys a recurring role as “Granny” to her grandchildren.