TEACHING ARTIST

Ash’s home-base for impactful and accessible theater education is Conservatory Theater Ensemble (CTE), the award-winning, public, non-audition, student-run high school theater department in Mill Valley, Ca at which she has enjoyed a Guest Artist position for the last four years. There, she has taught year-round workshops on Devising Physical Theater, Introduction to Meisner Technique, Scene Study and is the audition coach for B.F.A. Acting program applicants.

Ash has also guest taught and directed educational theatre productions at Marin Shakespeare Company, Yes! Theater / Ross Valley School District, Shakespeare On The Water and Marin Academy.

PROCESS, PROCEDURE, PRESENCE & PLAY

After twenty years investigating the art form, Ash continues to harbor a real hunch that theater is good for people and a transformative lens into any topic. Devising physical theater is Ash’s pedagogical anchor as a means to teach the core elements and key lessons of theatre making. Her workshops offer a playground for students to interrogate the six elements of fiction (character, plot, tone, theme, setting, point of view) and strengthen their storytelling instincts within a devising team. Rather than sitting and working independently to craft a story, student are up on their feet, moving their bodies, using their voices, connecting with their ensemble and working ideas out together. They develop their “group agreement” and collaborative communication skills and call upon the imagination and world-building muscles of childhood.

Theater is useful, it’s effective — and it’s scared fun that is fuel for collective strength.

*Photo from* ***Alice: Tales of a Curious Girl*** *by Karen Hartman, for* ***Marin Academy***.

Devising Physical Theater

Using historical events, prompt questions or source material from folklore, fairytales and literary legend in the public domain, Ash has overseen the process of creating five original physical theater pieces. Each featuring original one-act scripts, staging, choreography, design elements and even sometimes musical scores — all by the students.

Pitching ideas to the team, taking creative action, developing rehearsal room etiquette and the spirit of play are all at the center of this exercise. This course alchemizes foundational insight from several theatrical disciplines and creates an experimental lab for hands-on trial and error. The result is a harmony of established company culture, shared workspace language, laughter, spirted debate, students taking ownership over their work and discovering moments of true theatrical magic.

Ash’s classroom structure, formulas for sharing and discussing work and recipe of devising parameters creates a container for this expansive style of collaborative performance making to actually result in something tangible. While the focus of the course is process, there are firm deadline and deliverables that require the team to commit, prioritize, problem-solve and create a “product” that they can step back from, look at, and assess. Some past source material has included nautical myths like Davy Jones, The Flying Dutchman and children’s stories like Hansel & Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood.

Ash studied Devised Theater under Kevin Kittle (Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts) and Mark Jackson (American Conservatory Theater)

Photo from The Locker, a devised piece about nautical lore, created and performed in June 2025.

Introduction to Meisner Technique

Ash has taught an Intro to Meisner course for the last four years that highlights the history of popular acting styles and key practitioners of the last two centuries then implements Meisner’s foundational teachings into contemporary scene study with the goal of students learning how to rehearse a play. This course teaches Meisner technique in the context of theater history, breaks down the craft of acting, the job of the actor in rehearsal, and provides formulas for analyzing scripts and bringing scene work to life.

Ash had the privilege of studying Meisner’s technique for several years under Kevin Kittle (Rutgers University Mason Gross School of the Arts).

Conservatory Audition Monologue Coaching

Ash guides cohorts of high school juniors and seniors committed to auditioning for conservatory programs through sourcing, selecting and rehearsing audition material, taping pre-screen auditions and refining interview skills. Ash is well-versed in the conservatory audition process and is excited about preparing students for talent assessments as they launch into the next chapter of their academic lives.

Lists of student acceptances & program placements by year

University of Michigan - BFA, Directing
Emerson University - BFA, Acting
Emerson University - BFA Lighting Design
Ithaca University - BFA, Acting
UCLA - BA, Directing
UC Berkeley - BA, Theater‍ ‍/ Dance
Emerson University - BFA, Acting
Rutgers University - BFA, Acting
Rutgers University - BFA, Acting

Photo from backstage of Hamlet at Conservatory Theatre Ensemble
R-L: Kit Kulina (UCLA for Directing), Lexi Donovan (Emerson University for Acting)

Decoding Shakespeare

Ash teaches Shakespeare’s works and gives students tools to decode Shakespeare’s language and find relatability and immediacy in 400+ year old text.

Ash has performed at Shakespeare’s Globe Theater in London and trained there for an entire academic year under world-class Shakespearian experts.

Photo from ***Much Ado About Nothing*** directed by **Ash Baker** and **Jon Demegillo** for the **Teen Company** at **Marin Shakespeare Company**

Global Studies Chaperone

Ash has greatly enjoyed the opportunity to be part of the following chaperone teams for life-changing educational travel experiences, designed and led by Ben Cleaveland.

NYC 2026
Conservatory Theater Ensemble
30 theater students, 5 shows, 4 museums in 4 days

London 2025
Conservatory Theater Ensemble
30 theater students, 9 shows in 10 days

Photo from The Seagull by Anton Chekhov at Conservatory Theater Ensemble
Student stage managers and board ops perform pre-show technical checks while actor’s prepare for the show backstage.

“[Ash’s] love of the theater arts is so contagious. It was like miracle grow... ”

— Yes! Theater, Parent