Presenter Profile
Holly Haverkorn
Guest Artist, Consent Center Stage
Holly Haverkorn, Executive Director for Consent Center Stage, received her B.A. in Theatre with an emphasis in Directing from Lindenwood University before heading the theatre program at Mitchell High School in Colorado Springs for 16 years, where she was honored as a 2021 Colorado Teacher of the Year Finalist and the Colorado Thespian 2020 High School Educator of the Year. She is currently a Theatre Mentor for the Colorado Springs Conservatory, Educational Outreach Coordinator for Front Range Theatre and a member of the Advisory Board for Theatreworks of Colorado Springs. She is also a devoted wife and parent of two wonderful children; both blossoming performing artists themselves.
Holly's Workshops
Creating a Culture of Consent in Youth Theatre
Beginning, Intermediate, Advanced / Acting, Dance, Musical Theatre, Tech, , / Regular
As actors, artists, and arts educators we are keenly aware of the pressures on young actors and dancers to say "yes". It is built into the foundations of the art; the "yes and" in improv, the "yes" to impossible movement, the "yes" to pushing past injury. Ours is a discipline that falls into gray areas of physical/psychological contact and therefore requires clear guidelines and systems to provide safe environments.
We believe the first step in preventing the victimization of youth in arts communities is by providing education to kids, mentors, and educators around consent and bodily autonomy throughout the performance and training process. Our workshops focus on the importance of clear communication in rehearsal and performance to create healthy boundaries in a touch centered discipline. Workshops utilize lecture and movement based activities to help students (and educators) understand how to create a culture of consent in a competitive enviornment of excellence.