Innovative Approaches Redefining Recovery
THEATER
Celebrating, Educating, and Transforming People and Communities Through Theater Workshops and Performances
When I got my degree in Theatre Education, I wanted to use theatre to help troubled youth, the same way it had helped me. But I soon realized I was still a troubled young adult myself, unable to help anyone else until I helped myself. Now, 25 years later, after a lot of work and healing, I am doing exactly what I set out to do all those years ago, creating dynamic learning experiences and performances in theater and storytelling for all ages.
Actor, Teaching Artist and Playwright for Improbable Players
Improbable Players uses theater performances and workshops to address substance use disorder, reducing stigma, opening conversations, and portraying the addiction and recovery process honestly. All of the actors are in long term recovery. I've been an actor and teaching artist working in middle and high schools since 2017, and I'm currently co-writing a play focused on the Stages of Change with the amazing Elizabeth Addison.
Co-writer, Co-Director and Cast Member of Improbable Players’ 35th Anniversary Gala Show
Elizabeth Addison and I created a full-length performance comprising scenes, music, and storytelling, celebrating recovery and the incredible stories of the people on that journey. We played to a sold-out audience at Lyric Stage Company in Boston, and helped raise over $60,000 for the organization.
Teaching Artist, Cast Member, and Co-Director of Moving Stories Foundation
Several grants in 2017 allowed the Moving Stories Foundation to work with a cohort of formerly incarcerated women to create a 120 minute performance of their own stories in their own voices, integrating live storytelling with original music and dance. The show sold out the Dance Complex in Cambridge on multiple nights and was also performed at Wellesley College, Third Life Studios, and the South Middlesex Correctional Center.
Co-Directing the production of This is Treatment at the Northeastern University of Boston
This is Treatment is a musical written and developed by Elizabeth Addison, highlighting the stories of Black and Brown women and their personal journeys as they navigate substance addiction, treatment and recovery. The musical is inspired by Addison’s time at a residential treatment facility and aims to entertain, build bridges and heal communities through storytelling, song and dance. As Co-Directors of the current production of This is Treatment at Northeastern University in Boston, March 31st-April 10th, Meghann and Elizabeth have created an incredibly powerful show as well as a robust Community Engagement program. Before and after performances, audiences are invited to conversations led by community members and experts. These conversations are meant to continue the healing process and unpack issues surrounding substance misuse, mental health, recovery, and other themes within the musical.
