Sharon Stearns

Discipline: Interdisciplinary, Theatre, Writing
Homebase: Dunster
Languages: English
Contact Me: Email

I am a playwright, actor, dramaturge and producer. I've worked with theatre companies across Canada and also work as a freelance writer. My short fiction has appeared in literary magazines, anthologies and my documentaries and radio plays have been produced by CBC Radio. As artistic producer of Wishbone Theatre Productions, I develop and produce new plays and musical events. Since 1997, I have taught theatre and creative writing, both privately and in the BC school system. Through ArtStarts, I offer artist residency programs in acting, collective theatre creation and creative writing. Member of Actors Equity, Playwrights Guild, BC Federation of Writers.

Testimonials

Over the past 4 years I have had the pleasure of working with Sharon Stearns in my classroom. Every year Sharon comes to my school for a two week period. During that time she will expose my kids to a variety drama related activities like drama games, to preparing for a performance. Every year that Sharon comes to the school she is always well prepared and very enthusiastic. My students love when she is there and so do I as she always leaves me with lots of resources. I look forward to working with Sharon every year and I hope she is able to continue with the program. I would hate for my students to miss out on an excellent opportunity. Brad Schmidt - Grade 6/7 teacher - North Shuswap Elementary School, Celista, B.C.

Project Examples

Masking Emotions

To explore the theatrical world of our primary emotions, particularly - Happiness, Sadness, Anger, Fear, Disgust and Surprise. Using body movement, neutral and emotion masks, improv and storytelling techniques, the students will be guided to create dramatic scenarios that explore our emotional selves, and the emotional masks we wear in response to life experiences. Students will build their own neutral masks and be introduced to existing Emotion masks, using both to explore verbal and non-verbal expressions to build stories and characters. They will learn basic mask-performance skills and the visual power they possess when telling a story. They will investigate their sensory world, how emotional identities affect our thoughts, body language and communication skills with life-long consequences. What social situations do our emotional self-images create? What does it mean to "be yourself?" How do our emotions affect our relationships, our view of family, self, friends and community? This creation process builds collaborative skills. It also encourages the giving and receiving of ideas within a group dynamic that is goal oriented. It builds trust and confidence in students' creative abilities and generates a sense of pride and empowerment in sharing their work with this classmates.

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