LAURIE McCANTS

Laurie is a founding member of the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble (BTE), in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, where since 1978 she has served as   actor, director, writer, teacher, and several terms as elected artistic leader.   The home BTE has found in a rural region has served as a national example, proving the viability of a resident, professional ensemble theatre rooted in its community. In 1991, with BTE, she performed in a five-nation African tour.   In 2004, she toured her music-theatre piece THE ALEXANDRIA CARRY-ON (co-created with composer/performer Theo Bleckmann and scenographer F. Elaine Williams) to the Ko Festival of Performance and then to Egypt. In 2007, she created the bilingual OUR SHADOWS, in collaboration with the Egyptian puppet theatre company WAMDA.   Developing original work with her theatre company continues to be her primary focus; in 2006 she and BTE created SUSQUEHANNA:   MIGHTY, MUDDY, CROOKED RIVER OF THE LONG REACH. She has taught two previous workshops at the Ko Festival - EMBODYING THE OTHER IN DRAMATIC MONOLOGUE: story, spirit and subtle energy and CREATING THEATRE FROM HISTORICAL AND DOCUMENTARY MATERIALS.