Ep 12: Educators as Changemakers with Corey Mitchell

<p>During this episode of <em>Why Change?</em> co-hosts Rachael and Jeff speak about the impact of theatre in their lives and why policy-makers should increase access to arts education. Jeff interview Corey Mitchell, a long-time educator, the first recipient of the TONY Award for Excellence in Theatre Education, and founder of the Theatre Gap Initiative. They discuss how increasing access to theatre education opportunities for students of color to reimagine the future of American theatre. Rachael and Jeff debrief with a dialogue about how young creatives are envisioning the future of education and the arts.</p> <p>In this episode you’ll learn:</p> <ol> <li>The long-term impacts of increasing access to theatre and arts education;</li> <li>How exposure to people and experiences can impact young people; and</li> <li>What young creatives see in the future of education and the arts.</li> </ol> <p>Please download the transcript <a href="https://creative-generation.org/podcast">here</a>.</p> <p>ABOUT COREY MITCHELL- Since 1995, Mitchell has been a fervent and passionate classroom teacher who believes whole-heartedly in the potential of his students. He joined the faculty of Northwest in 2001 where he now teaches Theatre, Musical Theatre, Middle School Drama, and Directing for the Stage. During his tenure there have been way too many musicals, plays, music revues, and cabaret shows to list, but some of the productions that really standout include—<em>Ragtime, Hair, Pippin, Godspell, Shrek, All Shook Up, </em>and <em>The Color Purple </em>(that production was the basis of the 2017 award-winning documentary, <em>Purple Dreams</em>, produced by GreyHawk Films)<em>. </em>In addition to his work at NWSA, Corey has directed plays and musicals for a number of area theatre companies, including Theatre Charlotte, Charlotte Children’s Theatre, Central Piedmont Community College, Hickory Community Theatre, and Davidson Community Players. In 2015, Corey was the first recipient of the Tony Award for Excellence in Theatre Educatio