Evie Digirolamo is a theatre maker who specializes in new plays made from scratch. Her work is highly physical, using partner acrobatics and aerial arts, highly collaborative, and highly innovative, using multiple art forms (poetry, music, puppetry, and more) to tell a story.
Evie invested 12 years as a principal teaching artist with Upstream Arts, where she worked with and alongside the disability community and learned to be highly adaptable and responsive to her participants. Her work is also trauma-informed, supported by years of continuing education. And she worked for 2 years creating and facilitating play-based mental health support for schools in collaboration with drama therapists of the ALIVE program.
In her theater career, she is a company member with Sandbox Theatre, where she produces, writes, choreographs, directs, and performs. She’s a performing member of the Improv Movement Project, where stories are told without words- only movement. She is also the founder of the innovative aerial theatre The Swingset, a co-founder of the MN New Theater Conference, and a co-founder of Lucid Movement- a practice that brings together mindfulness, movement, and the arts.
She believes stories are made more powerful by many voices, bodies, and viewpoints coming together to create the world we want to see.
If you are interested in customized arts integration programming, please inquire.
Program Offerings
Evie has extensive experience and training in adapting to each student’s access needs and interests. She uses visuals, adaptive technology, and multiple ways of providing instructions, as well as multiple pathways to participation. She has worked for over a decade, offering arts education in special education classrooms, after-school programs, day centers, and retirement programs. Evie also has extensive experience with trauma-informed programming, creating and facilitating play-based mental health support for schools in collaboration with drama therapists of the ALIVE program.
Workshops
Aerial Silks- Learning to Fly
This is an opportunity to join the circus and fly! Participants will be coached in beginner poses on aerial silks and get to practice 1-on-1 with the instructor. This is an empowering art form that allows participants to challenge and surprise themselves. Instruction is tailored to all and adapted to the challenges participants want to try: everything from striking a pose in a hammock-like swing to hanging upside down. This workshop uses top-grade circus and safety equipment and attentive, supportive coaching. Anyone can join this circus!
Best for upper elementary through adults—even for those in wheelchairs!
Stories and Origami
This is storytime taken to the next level. As we read together, students will be invited to act out the story: practice emotions, repeat empowering words, and move and dance like the characters. Then, together, we will fold a character from the story to take home! Students are practicing literacy, social and emotional skills, teamwork, creativity, and fine motor skills!
Duration: 45-120 minute range; Participant Type: Early Elementary (K-3); Participant type customizations: Evie has extensive training and experience adapting to the accessibility needs and the interests of my students. She uses visual, adaptive technology, and many different ways of offering instruction and ways to participate.
Storytelling with Partner Acrobatics
By supporting one another, we can create all sorts of fun, wacky, and dynamic shapes with our bodies. This is an empowering art form that allows participants to challenge and surprise themselves. This is also a powerful storytelling tool. Participants will be coached in creating dynamic shapes together by supporting one another. These shapes are the building blocks of a story expressing emotions, setting, and action. Instruction is tailored for all and for the sort of challenges participants want to try. Coaching is supportive and focused on safety.
Duration: 45–90 minutes; Participant Types: Upper Elementary (4-6), Middle School (5-8), High School (9-12), Teens & Young Adults, Adults, Intergenerational
Page to Stage: Bring your favorite books to life!
Participants will collaborate to act out scenes (or even create new ones!) from a chosen favorite book. Combining movement, storytelling, and drumming, students will practice teamwork, literacy, and creative thinking!
Duration: 45-120 minute range; Participant Type: Early Learners (Pre-K), Early Elementary (K-3), Upper Elementary (4-6), Middle School (5-8), Older Adults, Folks with Disabilities; Participant type customizations: Evie has extensive experience and training adapting to each student’s access needs and interests. She uses visuals, adaptive technology, and multiple ways of offering instructions and multiple pathways to participation. With older students, this workshop can include writing prompts.
Enter the World of the Painting: A Creative Exploration of Famous Works of Art
What if we could enter our favorite painting and walk around? In this workshop, we will explore a famous painting through movement, sound, music, acting, poetry, and abstract art- creating our own works of art in response. The painting will create a rich landscape of inspiration for us to play and imagine together. Practicing collaboration, creative thinking, healthy risk-taking, self-expression, body awareness, and a multitude of art forms.
Duration: 45-120 minute range; Participant Type: Early Learners (Pre-K), Early Elementary (K-3), Upper Elementary (4-6), Middle School (5-8), High School (9-12), Folks with Disabilities, Teens & Young Adults, Adults, Older Adults – General, Older Adults – Memory Care, Intergenerational; Participant type customizations: I have extensive training and experience in adapting to participant’s accessibility needs and their interests. I use adaptive technology and multi-modal instruction, offering many avenues to participation; Supplies or resources needed: Ideally, access to a tables, chairs, projector, or smartboard (or similar) that connect to Evie’s laptop and project an image. If it is not available, Evie can also have printouts of the painting if this is not available.
Mindful Movement: A Fusion of Visual Art, Poetry, Acting, Drumming, and Dance
What does it feel like to be at home in our body? When we feel connected to our body we find strength, energy, confidence, and clarity. This workshop offers so many creative inspirations: we will move inspired by poems we craft together, abstract paintings we create for each other, drums we play for one another, and dramatic prompts. Surprise yourself and leave feeling like you know yourself a little better! For youth this is a great opportunity for teamwork, motor skills, and self-expression and for adults this is a great opportunity for empowerment, healthy risk-taking, creativity, and well-being.
Duration: 45-120 minute range; Participant Type: Early Learners (Pre-K); Early Elementary (K-3); Upper Elementary (4-6), Middle School (5-8), High School (9-12), Folks with Disabilities, Teens & Young Adults, Adults, Older Adults – Memory Care, Intergenerational, Older Adults – General
Mindful Painting
A new way to engage with paint. For absolute beginners and experienced visual artists alike. We will be exploring abstract painting using mindful art therapy techniques and a fusion of other artforms in order to turn off the inside critical voice and just feel the flow. We’ll paint music, we’ll paint movement, we’ll paint with our eyes closed, we’ll paint with two hands at once, we’ll paint our ways to connection with ourselves and others.
Duration: 45-120 minute range; Participant Type: Early Learners (Pre-K); Early Elementary (K-3); Upper Elementary (4-6), Middle School (5-8); High School (9-12), Folks with Disabilities, Teens & Young Adults, Adults, All-Ages, Older Adults – General, Older Adults – Memory Care, Intergenerational
Yoga Stories for Mindfulness
Through stories and play we will explore mindfulness, creativity, and emotional regulation. Every session we will adventure through a story learning yoga moves and fun mindful exercises along the way! This is a playful way for a young person to start to connect with their emotions and learn strategies to regulate.
Duration: 45-120 minute range; Participant Type: Early Learners (Pre-K), Early Elementary (K-3), Upper Elementary (4-6), Folks with Disabilities; Participant type customizations: Evie has extensive training in adapting for students’ accessibility needs and interests. She uses visuals and adaptive technology along with multiple ways to participate.
Art is Language: Connecting to Ourselves and Others
Art speaks. This is a collaborative and interactive offering combining music, dance, acting, poetry, and visual arts. We will explore how many ways we can have a conversation. Can we paint an argument? Can we dance our self-advocacy? Can we express grief with a drum? Or what if we can move like a painting? Or paint music? Delving into self-advocacy, self-expression, social and emotional learning, and healthy risk-taking, we will connect with ourselves and others through the joy of art. Crafted with universal design and accessibility, this is a wonderful way to practice community across differences.
Duration: 45-120 minute range; Participant Type: Early Learners (Pre-K), Early Elementary (K-3), Upper Elementary (4-6), Middle School (5-8), Folks with Disabilities, Teens & Young Adults, Adults, High School (9-12), Older Adults – General, Older Adults – Memory Care, Intergenerational; Participant type customizations: Evie has taught this with all ages and abilities. She uses visuals, adaptive technology, many ways of offering instructions and many different pathways to participation. This is a great offering for memory care where participants can focus on playfully connecting in lots of different ways and for non-verbal or non-traditional communicators. Offering limitation: Best group size is 10-15. Can discuss how to accommodate larger groups.
The Art of Self-Advocacy
Using the power of art, we will practice the skills we need to advocate for ourselves: healthy boundaries, balanced relationships with people in our lives, bodily autonomy, and personal agency. Playfully, through interactive painting, movement, acting, and music, participants will be empowered to practice making choices. Based on a curriculum developed with Upstream Arts. A great class for social and emotional skill learning.
Duration: 45-120 minute range; Participant Type: Early Learners (Pre-K), Early Elementary (K-3), Upper Elementary (4-6), Middle School (5-8), High School (9-12), Folks with Disabilities, Teens & Young Adults, Adults; Participant type customizations: I have extensive training in adapting for participants’ accessibility needs and interests. I use adaptive technology, consider universal design, and offer many avenues for participation. I have taught this to all ages and abilities and adapted to the group.
Dramatic Play: Choose Your Own Theme
Play is the language of children. This is an opportunity to explore playful theater games together. Do you have a group of kids who love superheroes? A certain video game? A movie? The theme can be crafted around their interests. A great way to learn teamwork, practice social and emotional skills, and self-expression.
Duration: 45-120 minute range; Participant Type: Early Learners (Pre-K), Early Elementary (K-3), Upper Elementary (4-6), Folks with Disabilities
Residencies
Evie’s residency durations can be customized within a 45 to 120-minute range, along with the number of sessions.
Page to Stage: Bring your favorite books to life!
Participants will collaborate to act out scenes (or even create new ones!) from a chosen favorite book. Combining movement, storytelling, and drumming, students will practice teamwork, literacy, and creative thinking!
Duration: Can be customized; Participant Type: Early Learners (Pre-K), Early Elementary (K-3), Upper Elementary (4-6), Middle School (5-8), Older Adults, Folks with Disabilities; Participant type customizations: Evie has extensive experience and training adapting to each student’s access needs and interests. She uses visuals, adaptive technology, and multiple ways of offering instructions and multiple pathways to participation. With older students, this workshop can include writing prompts.
Stories and Origami
This is storytime taken to the next level. As we read together, students will be invited to act out the story: practice emotions, repeat empowering words, move and dance like the characters. Then, together, we will fold a character from the story to take home! Students are practicing literacy, social and emotional skills, teamwork, creativity, and fine motor skills!
Duration: 45-120 minute range; Participant Type: Early Elementary (K-3); Participant type customizations: Evie has extensive training and experience adapting to the accessibility needs and the interests of my students. She usesvisual, adaptive technology, and many different ways of offering instruction and ways to participate.
Enter the World of the Painting: A Creative Exploration of Famous Works of Art
What if we could enter our favorite painting and walk around? In this workshop we will explore a famous painting through: movement, sound, music, acting, poetry, and abstract art- creating our own works of art in response. The painting will create a rich landscape of inspiration for us to play and imagine within together. Practicing collaboration, creative thinking, healthy risk-taking, self-expression, body awareness, and a multitude of artforms.
Duration: 45-120 minute range; Participant Type: Early Learners (Pre-K), Early Elementary (K-3), Upper Elementary (4-6), Middle School (5-8), High School (9-12), Folks with Disabilities, Teens & Young Adults, Adults, Older Adults – General, Older Adults – Memory Care, Intergenerational; Participant type customizations: I have extensive training and experience in adapting to participant’s accessibility needs and their interests. I use adaptive technology and multi-modal instruction, offering many avenues to participation; Supplies or resources needed: Ideally access to a tables, chairs, projector or smartboard (or similar) that connect to Evie’s laptop and project an image. If it is not available, Evie can also have printouts of the painting if this is not available.
Creating a Play from Scratch
This teaches you how to make plays by us and for us. We’ll start with a blank page, and we will build the text and movement and characters collaboratively through exercises used by Sandbox Theater in their 20 year history of original plays in the Twin Cities. What we think and care about will guide the story.
If a classroom has a particular subject, piece of history, book, or theme you would like to explore this is customizable.
Duration: 2 hour sessions once a week for 6 weeks, can be customized; Participant Type: High School (9-12), Middle School (5-8), Teens & Young Adults, Adults; Participant type customizations: I have extensive experience adapting to all ages, abilities, and interests. I will work with each group to offer many different avenues to participate.
Aerial Silks—Learn to Fly
This is an opportunity to join the circus and fly! Participants will be coached in beginner poses on aerial silks and get to practice 1-on-1 with the instructor. This is an empowering art form that allows participants to challenge and surprise themselves. Instruction is tailored to all and adapted to the challenges participants want to try: everything from striking a pose in a hammock-like swing to hanging upside down. This workshop uses top-grade circus and safety equipment and attentive, supportive coaching. Anyone can join this circus!
Best for groups of up to 15 (can be modified for larger groups). Ages upper elementary through adults, even for those in wheelchairs. As part of the residency, participants will build a movement vocabulary of aerial silk poses and practice sequences that flow into a mini performance. If desired, this could culminate in an informal share with invited friends and family.
Art is Language: Connecting to Ourselves and Others
Art speaks. This is a collaborative and interactive offering combining music, dance, acting, poetry, and visual arts. We will explore how many ways can we have a conversation? Can we paint an argument? Can we dance our self-advocacy? Can we express grief with a drum? Or what if we can move like a painting? Or paint music? Delving into self-advocacy, self-expression, social and emotional learning, and healthy risk-taking: we will connect with ourselves and others through the joy of art. Crafted with universal design and accessibility, this is a wonderful way to practice community across differences.
If you have particular themes, topics, or social/emotional skills you’d like your participants to practice, this offering is extremely customizable.
Duration: 45-120 minute range; Participant Type: Early Learners (Pre-K), Early Elementary (K-3), Upper Elementary (4-6), Middle School (5-8), Folks with Disabilities, Teens & Young Adults, Adults, High School (9-12), Older Adults – General, Older Adults – Memory Care, Intergenerational; Participant type customizations: Evie has taught this with all ages and abilities. She uses visuals, adaptive technology, many ways of offering instructions and many different pathways to participation. This is a great offering for memory care where participants can focus on playfully connecting in lots of different ways and for non-verbal or non-traditional communicators. Offering limitation: Best group size is 10-15. Can discuss how to accommodate larger groups.
This is based on curriculum from the non-profit Upstream Arts where Evie worked with and alongside people with and without disabilities for over a decade.
Storytelling with Partner Acrobatics
By supporting one another, we can create all sorts of fun, wacky, and dynamic shapes with our bodies. This is an empowering art form that allows participants to challenge and surprise themselves. This is also a powerful storytelling tool. Participants will be coached in creating dynamic shapes together by supporting one another. These shapes are the building blocks of a story expressing emotions, setting, and action. Instruction is tailored for all and for the sort of challenges participants want to try. Coaching is supportive and focused on safety.
For a residency, together we will either take a short book or tale (or create our own story) and create choreography with our partner acrobatics to bring the story to life. If the site chooses, this can culminate in a shared performance for invited family and friends.
Duration: 45–90 minutes; Participant Types: Upper Elementary (4-6), Middle School (5-8), High School (9-12), Teens & Young Adults, Adults, Intergenerational
Storytelling with Aerial Silks
Aerial silks are an empowering art form that allows participants to challenge and surprise themselves. They are also a powerful storytelling tool that can be puppeted, projected on, and danced on. This is a customizable offering for participants to create small scenes and stories that use aerial silk performance. Participants will be coached in beginner poses on aerial silks and will have the opportunity to practice 1-on-1 with the instructor. Instruction is tailored for all and adapted to the challenges participants want to try: everything from striking a pose in a hammock-like swing to hanging upside down. This workshop uses top-grade circus and safety equipment and attentive, supportive coaching. Participants will also practice using the silks to create settings and action in their story. Together, we will brainstorm, write, and bring stories to life. This can also be customized to focus on telling a particular story or tale of the site’s choosing. If the site chooses, this can culminate in a shared performance for invited family and friends.
Duration: 1-2 hour sessions, 8 or more sessions; Participant Types: Upper Elementary (4-6), Middle School (5-8), High School (9-12), Folks with Disabilities, Teens & Young Adults, Adults, Intergenerational
Yoga Stories for Mindfulness
Through stories and play, we will explore mindfulness, creativity, and emotional regulation. Every session, we will adventure through a story, learning yoga moves and fun mindful exercises along the way! This is a playful way for a young person to start to connect with their emotions and learn strategies to regulate.
Duration: 45-120 minute range; Participant Type: Early Learners (Pre-K), Early Elementary (K-3), Upper Elementary (4-6), Folks with Disabilities; Participant type customizations: Evie has extensive training in adapting for students’ accessibility needs and interests. She uses visuals and adaptive technology along with multiple ways to participate.
Bring My Curriculum to Life: Arts Integration for Classrooms
Do you want to infuse art into your lessons? Enliven your history, science, social studies, language arts lessons and more with a custom-crafted arts collaboration. Evie specializes in performance, writing, movement, and incorporating visual art into the topics of your choice. Reach out to design your own residency.
Duration: 45-120 minute range; Participant Type: Early Learners (Pre-K), Early Elementary (K-3), Upper Elementary (4-6), Middle School (5-8), High School (9-12), Folks with Disabilities, Teens & Young Adults
The Art of Self Advocacy
Using the power of art, we will practice the skills we need to advocate for ourselves: healthy boundaries, balanced relationships with people in our lives, bodily autonomy, and personal agency. Playfully through interactive painting, movement, acting, and music participants will be empowered to practice making choices. Based on curriculum developed with Upstream Arts. A great class for social and emotional skill learning.
Duration: 45-120 minute range; Participant Type: Early Learners (Pre-K), Early Elementary (K-3), Upper Elementary (4-6), Middle School (5-8), High School (9-12), Folks with Disabilities, Teens & Young Adults, Adults.
Dramatic Play: Choose Your Own Theme
Play is the language of children. This is an opportunity to explore playful theater games together. Do you have a group of kids that love superheros? A certain video game? A movie? The theme can be crafted around their interests. A great way to learn teamwork, practice social and emotional skills, and self-expression.
Duration: 45-120 minute range; Participant Type: Early Learners (Pre-K), Early Elementary (K-3), Upper Elementary (4-6), Folks with Disabilities
Teaching Artist Statement
As a teaching artist who has worked with numerous students who communicate differently from me: deaf students, English language learners, non-verbal communicators, students of all different ages, identities, and backgrounds, I always approach a new relationship with the understanding that we are first learning from each other and creating a shared language. To that end, I see all art forms as languages. Many classes, before I even say a word, I will start a drumming conversation with each student, and that is our first hello- our first collaboration. In each activity, I emphasize to the students: “You are the expert of you. You belong to you. You get to make choices.” Participation in my classes is as varied as people are: how does that dance move feel good for your body- is it seated, or standing, just with your hand or just with your eyes? Do you want to sing your answer, dance it, paint it, or pass and be the audience this time? Because enthusiastic consent is above all, and support is participation.
Play and embodiment is at the core of all I do. Including in how we regulate as a class. Perhaps we need to pause and drum a heartbeat, or stretch and wiggle. Including in how we relate to each other: can you paint their dance move? Can you sing their painting? Can you act out their poetry? As I offer space for students to advocate, express, take creative risks, and explore, I demonstrate again and again that we all bring something of value, and we all need each other.
“This is the single most valuable workshop I’ve attended in 5 years. It is certainly a success and has me growing into a new relationship with my own faith in my own body. Thank you for this opportunity. It feels like electricity.”
Workshop Participant
“Thank you for this amazing space you’ve created. It has been one of the most connected / safe and good feeling spaces I’ve been in. I see all the work you are all doing to make it welcoming and accessible.”
Workshop Participant
“This feels like a playground for adults. This intentional community is what I’ve been searching for”
Workshop Participant
“You have such a profound not just acceptance but an appreciation of all the complexity of the students and acknowledging everything they say- and also offering access point for any student to participate with different communication styles”
Minneapolis Public School Teacher
“One student was in a similar class last year, but we could barely get him in the classroom or he just lay under a table on the floor. But now he runs to the class every day.”
Minneapolis Public School Teacher
