TEACHING ARTIST
Abby has been a teaching artist and educator for several professional theaters including:
Milwaukee Repertory Theater, First Stage Theater (Milwaukee), Steppenwolf Theatre (Chicago), Collaboraction (Chicago), Storycatchers Theatre (Chicago), Adventure Stage Chicago, Northlight Theatre (Chicago), Chicago Children's Theatre, Filament Theatre (Chicago), African American Children's Theater (Milwaukee), Optimist Theatre (Milwaukee), Compass Creative Dramatics (Chicago based, touring company), and AfterSchool Matters (Chicago).
Abby has taught a variety of subjects, including improvisation, acting fundamentals, introduction to voiceover basics, devised theater, storytelling, poetry, theater for social justice, and more. She is most proud of her work alongside incarcerated youth, facilitating basic acting workshops, teambuilding and life skills, coaching writing sessions, and devising and developing original musicals based on true stories, while performing alongside her students.
You can find a sample of this work with Storycatchers Theatre here.
Facilitating a group of youth at
"Zapping" and "putting a spell on one another"
Beidler Elementary School "Make a Book" class where students combined theater making, photography, and storytelling.
Anansi the Spider Animation Audiodrama
Written, Directed, Edited, and Voiceover by Abby Thompson
*Featuring Teaching Artists at Beidler Elementary School
Afterschool program