Rapid Fire
What do you say to a student who tells you they’re not creative?
Creativity starts with making a choice. It doesn’t have to be the best one. You can’t make a better choice until you’ve made the first.
Which teacher do you still think about, and why?
My college Shakespeare professor, Louis Scheeder, whose high expectations came with a deep belief in what his students could do, and who had a gift for making even the most complicated ideas feel simple and clear.
What did you do prior to joining NEIA that has nothing to do with education?
I was a personal trainer and taught yoga.
allison.taaffe@neiacademy.orgEDUCATION
B.F.A in Drama, New York University
M.F. A in Theater Education/Applied Theater, Emerson College
BACKGROUND
Ms. Allison Taaffe is a director, theater-maker, and educator who has taught and directed in independent schools and arts organizations, including Nobles and Greenough School, Boston Public Schools, Actors’ Shakespeare Project, and Spotlight Performing Arts in Peru. She serves as Director of the Summer Youth Intensive at Actors’ Shakespeare Project, where she leads high school students through classical text analysis, movement, acting, and full-length Shakespeare productions. Her work as a teaching artist has included workshops at institutions including MIT and Brandeis.
At NEIA, Mrs. Taaffe’s teaching emphasizes on creativity, collaboration, and the power of storytelling.