EDUCATOR

Download CV:  Macau Educator Bio 2016 New

APPLIED IMPROV FACILITATOR

 

Michelle Rapping to Poe:  This video was shot at the Urban Principal’s Academy at Lehigh University. It was part of a Cap Stone presentation in the Summer of 2015. Everyone in the video is improvising.

 

Why Improv?  Using the techniques and exercises of improvisation fosters TRUST upon which all relationships are built.  SPONTANEITY is needed in life as change is a constant. Making one’s partner look good, takes the focus off oneself and puts it on the other person, engendering a more cohesive TEAM in the workplace.  The exercises allow participants to become willing to take RISKS, explore one’s IMAGINATION and foster a sense of PLAY that encourages a more creative output by team members.

 Teacher's College
AASA Collaborative. Facilitating a workshop for school superintendents at Teacher’s College/Columbia University.

 

THE GIFTS OF IMPROV

Practicing the principals and techniques of Improvisation imparts these gifts:

 

  • ACCEPTANCE: Accepting the ideas of others and building on them

  • AWARENESS: Self-awareness. When are you are a “Yes, and” vs. a “Yes, but” person?  Other-awareness.  Being aware of what others offer you.

  • COMMUNICATION: Becoming attuned to non-verbal communication and a willingness to be open when communicating with others.

  • CONCENTRATION & FOCUS: Developing and honing concentration and focus skills

  • FEAR & FAILURE: Making friends with fear and the fear of failure.  Stepping out of one’s comfort zone.  Willingness to fail happily.

  • FUN & LAUGHTER:   Open to having fun and laughing freely.

  • LISTENING: Develop and honing listening skills.

  • PARTNER:   Making your partner look good.  Your partner is #1.  Engaging with others productively.  Working well together with peers.

  • PRESENCE: Being present in the moment, in your body, not in your head.

  • RISK: Embracing risk and willingness to becoming risk-takers.

  • SELF-KNOWLEDGE: Enjoying a deeper understanding of self

  • SPONTANEITY: Willingness to experience and become more spontaneous

  • TRUST: Building trust with others.  The foundation of relationships.

 

TESTIMONIALS:

“For someone who is new to a role as a leader, it is important to be mindful of whether or not one makes others look good through her support and interactions, and that her own personality sets the tone of the building. The improvisational exercises that I engaged in with Michelle Macau supported those fundamental leadership principles in distinct ways that have had a lasting impact on me.” 

  • Jennifer Bryant, Supervisor of Instruction for the Allentown School District

“It was very refreshing to see others, I know well and not so well, open up so quickly and get to see the creativity and perspectives I might have never seen from them. We really tapped into some deep emotions and I learned a lot in your sessions about myself.”  

  • Matthew Pile, Assistant Principal at Sheridan Elementary in the Allentown School District

“The big ideas that stood with me from our improve sessions include the idea that you always want to make your partner look good and the importance of allowing yourself to come out of your comfort zone. These are ideas I want to instill in my staff.”

  • Shannin Peters, Acting Assistant Principal of Luis A. Ramos Elementary School in Allentown, PA

“I truly enjoyed the introverted activities that allowed me to share my experiences in administration.”

  • Joanellyn M. Schubert, M.Ed., Dean of Student Services at The Lehigh Valley Charter School of the Arts in Allentown, PA

“What I found to be most meaningful during my improv experiences is the importance of trust. One person on a stage can accomplish something, but when you work as a team magic can happen.”

  • Adam Dinney, Teacher, Allentown School District

 

TEACHING ARTIST

My very first job as a teaching artist was at a summer camp teaching dance to 2-8 year olds.  Then I facilitated theater workshops at Hegemen Diagnostic Center in Brooklyn and Arthur Kill Correctional Facility on Staten Island, NY.

While earning my MFA in Directing, I was Teaching Assistant to Elisabeth Orion, Head of Acting at Carnegie-Mellon University (CMU) focusing on the theater games and exercises component for the first-year conservatory students. For CMU’s pre-college program, I taught acting and directing to junior and senior high school students.  

I’ve worked at various universities including the LaSalle School of Drama in Singapore, the Institute for Shipboard Education’s Semester at Sea program out of the University of Pittsburgh and the University of California-Riverside directing student written plays, acting and theatre history.

I’ve also conducted theater residencies for urban, suburban and rural schools K-12 in New York and Massachusetts.  

Currently I am a New York City substitute teacher bringing theater and the arts to PS48 in the South Bronx and teaching applied improvisational acting techniques to master students at Lehigh University.