About

Mae Early is a writer, theatre artist, and educator who fundamentally believes that everyone deserves a safe and supportive environment to cultivate their creative voice. In service of this mission, she facilitates experiential workshops for all ages and ability levels at schools, community centers, corporations, and non-profits inside and outside the arts. She also Co-Founded Whole HeART Teaching, an arts education resource center which activates social-emotional and reflective learning throughout arts lessons to cultivate healing-centered, student-powered spaces.

Early’s blog, Create. Communicate. Connect., explores the writing process and provides resources and activities for writers of all skill levels. A former contributor to The Magic Happens Magazine, she is also a featured author in the book Empowered Women of Social Media.  As a theatre director and dramaturg, she has worked with numerous theatre companies large and small on productions and developmental readings. She focuses this work on new play development, largely in support of emerging artists and writers of all ages.

Within theatre education, Early’s workshops focus on playwriting, directing, and performance. Within writing, she facilitates workshops about the fundamentals of storytelling, revision, poetry, and discovering the creative voice within. In addition to teaching over 1500 workshops at a multitude of schools in the Greater Philadelphia Area, she has worked with numerous organizations including InterAct Theatre, the Walnut Street Theate, Wilma Theater, 1812 Productions, Theatre Horizon, Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre, National Novel Writing Month, and Washington College, to name a few. Formerly the Resident Teaching Artist and Education Associate at Philadelphia Theatre Company, she is currently the Director of Education at Philadelphia Young Playwrights.

Early has also facilitated professional development sessions for scores of high school students, community professionals, teachers, and teaching artists, with a specialization in trauma-informed arts education practices. Topics have included tactics for clear communication, instructional methods and pedagogy, fostering a supportive creative environment, arts integration, and theatre education best practices. Through her work in professional development, she’s been fortunate to work with organizations across multiple sectors, including the Stockton Bartol Rush Foundation, the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, Philadelphia Orchestra, the National Guild for Community Arts Education, Leadership Philadelphia, Philadelphia Academies, Dancing Classrooms Philly, Musicopia, and the School District of Philadelphia, to name a few. To learn more about the various professional development sessions she can bring to your organization, please visit here.

Full Resume available on request.