Sobha Kavanakudiyil

November 2024 Sobha facilitated "Devising Theatre" for The Educational Arts Team.

September 2024 Sobha was invited to present "Devising to Dramaturgy" at the Educational Theatre Association Conference. 

September 2023  Sobha facilitated "Curriculum Development" for The Educational Arts Team.

May 2020  Sobha was an invited panelist for “Theatre for Young Audiences in a Time of COVID 19” for TYA/USA.

May 2020 Sobha co-moderated “Roundtable Conversation: Next Steps in Advocacy” for The New York City Arts in Education Roundtable.  

April 2020 Sobha co-moderated  “Roundtable Conversation: Managing Unemployment as a Teaching Artist with Daniel Sullivan in the Age of COVID-19” for  The New York City Arts in Education Roundtable.

April 2020 Sobha was an invited panelist for “Teaching Theatre On-Line in the Age of COVID-19” for New York Theatre Workshop. 

October 2020 Sobha moderated a panel “How to Navigate DOE Vendor License for Independent Teaching Artists with Maria Palma, Trenton Price, Adam Wexelbaum, Taylor Vecchio, Cornell Carelock” for The New York City Arts in Education Roundtable. 

August 2019 Sobha moderated a panel “Gender and Gender Identity with Alexis Roblan and Ty Defoe” for American Alliance for Theatre and Education. 

August 2019 Sobha moderated a panel “Hearing Youth Voices”  for the American Alliance for Theatre and Education. 

February 2019  Sobha was invited to present “Exploring Policy: Advocacy for Theatre Education in Changing Political Times” on behalf of American's for the Arts in Florida at a conference for English Language Arts Teachers. 

August 2018 Sobha was invited to present “Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: The New York City Arts in Education Roundtable's Journey in Implementation and Practice" on behalf of The New York City Arts in Education Roundtable at the American Alliance for Theatre and Education.

March 2018 Sobha was invited to Puebla, Mexico by Instituto Municipal de Arte y Cultura de Puebla (IMACP). While there she devised theatre with youth and elementary school children, worked with Actors, Playwrights, Directors and Dancer's and shared methods in which to collaborate with communities and held a talk back to an audience full of artists. 

March 2018 Sobha was accepted in to the Fulbright Specialist Program and as such traveled to Seoul, Korea. While there she was able to share Devising Theatre techniques with English teachers which culminated in a performance. In addition, she was a Guest Lecturer at the International Graduate School of English in a Creative Drama class and held a one day professional development for teachers. 

​​February 2017  League of Professional Women in Theatre hosted a panel discussion at the American Airlines Theater.  Sobha was invited to be part of a panel discussion discussing "Career Paths in Theatre Education."  This panel included theatre practitioners, educators, teaching artists, and faculty in higher education.

​January 2017  American Alliance for Theatre and Education Symposium on TYA at The New Victory Theater.  Sobha was invited to be part of a panel discussion discussing the idea of quality and how it applies to Theatre Education.  This Symposium was called "Creating Quality" and theatre practitioners, educators, teaching artists, faculty in higher education and presenting and producing theatre's from all over the country joined in the discussion.  

October 2016 American Alliance for Theatre and Education TIOS in NOLA
Sobha was invited to keynote the Regional TIOS conference in New Orleans.  During the keynote she will discuss the importance of using the arts for community building and arts integration as well as facilitate a workshop on devising theatre and moderate a panel on arts integration with Kidsmart, NOLA.   In addition, in her role as National Programming Director for AATE she will talk about the national conference to be held in New Orleans in the summer of 2017.  

September 2016  Apollo Theater
Sobha was invited to kick of the 2016-2017 school year by facilitating the first PD of the year for the Apollo Teaching Artists.  During this PD Teaching Artists will re-visit their own teaching philosophy and artistic goals as well as the mission of the Apollo Theater in an effort to get them excited and ready for the upcoming school year and to dive deeper into the workshop that they offer their schools. 

July 2016 American Alliance for Theatre and Education
Sobha will present, along with Joe Salvatore from NYU's Educational Theatre Program a session called "The Tip of the Iceberg: Moving Beyond What We See" tapping into the investigation of our own unconscious bias and how it impacts our practice as arts educators. 

April 2016  Face to Face Conference
Sobha will present, along with Michael Wiggins from Urban Arts Partnership a session called "Moving Beyond I Have a Dream" with James Miles and Courtney Boddie.  This session will investigate challenges for individuals in the arts education field as a teaching artist based on topics of diversity, privilege and leadership.

January 2016  APAP Conference
Sobha will present, along with Paul Rajeckas and Joe Giardana, Creative Partnerships: Artists and Professors Working Together." Participants will explore strategies and tools to develop a strong partnership when artist and professor share the classroom. 

December 2015  Lifetime Arts
Sobha will facilitate "From Story to Stage" at a professional development for theatre teaching artists who are interested in intergenerational work. 

April 2015  Face to Face Conference
Sobha moderated a panel called "In Full Color: Cultivating a New Generation of Leaders in Arts Education." The panel included Michael Wiggins, Urban Arts Partnership, Courtney J. Boddie, The New Victory Theater and James Miles, Teaching Artists and Fresh Prep Professor at Urban Arts Partnership.  This panel focused on the topic of how to diversify the field of arts education. 

November 2014  Apollo Theater
Sobha was invited to moderate a discussion after a day long professional development with teachers from around New York City.  The professional development included a historic tour of Harlem and the Apollo Theater, a process drama, and a discussion "How to Utilize Experiences with Cultural Organizations into a Classroom."  Sobha was asked to not only moderate the discussion, but also to unpack the entire day and all the experiences the teachers participated in all while making connections to their curriculum. 

September, November 2014, February 2015, August 2015  Urban Arts Partnership
Practicing Partnership: Forging strong relationships with classroom teachers and organizations. On behalf of TAG, this session empowered Teaching Artists with a hands on experiential exploration of potential first meetings that TA's might experience at the beginning of a residency with their hiring cultural, school administration and classroom teachers. Participants will be placed in the role of the teaching artist, administrator, classroom teacher or cultural head in these imagined scenarios to discuss deeper best practices in creating strong partnerships.

July 2014  American Alliance for Theatre Educators Conference
Practicing Partnership: Forging strong relationships with classroom teachers and organizations. On behalf of TAG, this session empowered Teaching Artists with a hands on experiential exploration of potential first meetings that TA's might experience at the beginning of a residency with their hiring cultural, school administration and classroom teachers. Participants will be placed in the role of the teaching artist, administrator, classroom teacher or cultural head in these imagined scenarios to discuss deeper best practices in creating strong partnerships. 

June, November 2014  Center for Arts Education
Integrating Drama into Social Studies.  This session was designed as professional development for Classroom Teachers who participate in the Center for Arts Education's Arts Integration Residency Program. Teacher participants were introduced to many drama strategies that can be used as a teaching tool and they were able to reflect on how it could be implemented with their classroom curriculum focusing on using drama to teach Social Studies curriculum.

April 2014  New York University Educational Theatre Program Teaching Artist Forum
Practicing Partnership: Forging strong relationships with classroom teachers and organizations. On behalf of TAG, this session empowered Teaching Artists with a hands on experiential exploration of potential first meetings that TA's might experience at the beginning of a residency with their hiring cultural, school administration and classroom teachers. Participants will be placed in the role of the teaching artist, administrator, classroom teacher or cultural head in these imagined scenarios to discuss deeper best practices in creating strong partnerships. 

April 2014  Face to Face Conference
The Many Hats of a TA.  In connection with the New York City Arts in Education Teaching Artist Affairs Committee, this session focused on various challenges Teaching Artists might encounter in their day to day work.  Session participants worked in groups to discuss various challenges and strategies to empower the Teaching Artist to be successful in these situations.  

March 2014 Theater in Our Schools (AATE-TIOS)
A Conversation About Partnership.  This active panel session was an exploration of the challenges faced when managing partnerships specific to arts education. Panelists included Arts Administrators, Teaching Artists, and a Theatre Teacher.  Panelists worked in small groups along with participants to discuss challenges and discover strategies to navigate through these challenges. 

November 2013  Center for Arts Education
Using Drama as a Teaching Tool.  This session was designed as professional development for Classroom Teachers who participate in the Center for Arts Education's Arts Integration Residency Program. Teacher participants were introduced to many drama strategies that can be used as a teaching tool and they were able to reflect on how it could be implemented with their classroom curriculum.  

September 2013  Theater Development Fund
What is Our Social Responsibility as Theatre Educators?  This session was designed as professional development for the Teaching Artist ensemble at TDF. We focused on thinking about the many hats we wear in the process of collaboration as an Artist, as a representative to the organization, as a teacher/artist to our students. Using Augusto Boal's technique we explored how to navigate issues that may arise and celebrate moments of success.

July 2013  American Alliance for Theatre Educators Conference
Civic Engagement and the Arts.  This session focused on using Service Learning concepts and applying it to Arts Education to create stronger Civic Engagement opportunities.  The session also shared how this work is being used successfully in The Graduate Program in Educational Theatre at The City College of New York.  Jono Waldman and Sarah Abrams were co-presenters. 

March 2013  Face to Face Conference
Civic Engagement and the Arts.  This session focused on using Service Learning concepts and applying it to Arts Education to create stronger Civic Engagement opportunities.  The session also shared how this work is being used successfully in The Graduate Program in Educational Theatre at The City College of New York.  Jono Waldman and Sarah Abrams were co-presenters. 

March 2013  Theater In Our Schools Conference
Barriers to Learning.  This was a panel presentation that was moderated by Sobha. Panelists included Theatre Teachers, a Teaching Artist, and a Special Education Teacher. The panel explored a discussion based on the following: How do we approach Barriers to Learning as Theatre Teachers and Teaching Artists? The discussion included ideas on strategies to access all students, assessment, alignment with the Common Core, working with various populations and encouraging growth.  

February 2013  Corporate Development - Diversity and Empowerment Workshop
Executive Presence.  Along with Teaching Artist Sarah Abrams, this session focused on working with corporate employees on confidence, empowerment and building executive presence in the workplace while encouraging creativity and imagination.  Participants explored their inner artist while dreaming big. 

July 2012  Using Conflict Resolution in Non - Traditional Settings
Conflict Resolution with the Girl Scouts of America. Along with Teaching Artist Sarah Abrams, this session focused on developing conflict resolution through drama techniques with workshop leaders.  

February 2012 Face to Face Conference
The Wisdom is in the Room.   Along with colleagues Courtney J. Boddie, Jennifer DiBella, Michael Lopez, and Heidi Stallings this session focused on how Teaching Artists can support an organization's growth through mentoring and contributions in development.  

August 2011  New Victory Theater Teacher Institute
Process and Performance: Devising Non-Traditional Theatre with Teens.  Along with colleague Courtney J. Boddie and Mara Richards, as supported by the NYC DOE, this teacher training focused on a performance lab that explored what can happen when we find opportunities to collaborate and devise with our students. This professional development institute is inspired by a production created by teens and presented at The New Victory Theater.  This professional development was 36 hours long spread out through an intense week of collaboration, artistic development and pedagogical support.

July 2011 American Alliance of Theatre Educators
Process and Performance: Devising Non-Traditional Theatre with Teens.  Along with colleague Courtney J. Boddie, this performance lab explored what can happen when we find opportunities to collaborate and devise with our students. This professional development institute is inspired by a production created by teens and presented at The New Victory Theater.

June 2011 Flushing Town Hall Professional Development
Teachers at a Queens, NY school participated in a two hour professional development on how to use theatre strategies in the classroom to teach curriculum.  

April 2011  Professional Development at KIPP
Teachers at the KIPP school participated in an hour long professional development on how to use theatre strategies in the classroom to teach curriculum.  

February 2011  Face to Face Conference
Process and Performance: Devising Non-Traditional Theatre with Teens.  Along with colleague Courtney J. Boddie, this performance lab explored what can happen when we find opportunities to collaborate and devise with our students. This professional development institute is inspired by a production created by teens and presented at The New Victory Theater. 

October 2010  Educational Theatre Association Conference
Process and Performance: Devising Non-Traditional Theatre with Teens.  Along with colleague Courtney J. Boddie, this performance lab explored what can happen when we find opportunities to collaborate and devise with our students. This professional development institute is inspired by a production created by teens and presented at The New Victory Theater. 

April 2010  NYU Applied Theatre and Pedagogy Conference
The Professionalization of the Teaching Artist is a researched piece developed by Annie Montgomery and Michael Wiggins to explore the profession of Teaching Artistry. As a part of the ensemble Sobha will participate in the development and performance/workshop on April 24, 2010 at 4pm at the conference. 

February 2010  Face to Face Conference
The Professionalization of the Teaching Artist is a researched piece developed by Annie Montgomery and Michael Wiggins to explore the profession of Teaching Artistry. As a part of the ensemble Sobha participated in the development and performance/workshop on February 25, 2010 at 10:25am at the conference. 

November 2009  NJEA Convention
Along with colleague Dominick Buccafusco from the Educational Arts Team, Sobha presented Theater Infusion to teachers at the 2009 New Jersey Education Association Convention in Atlantic City.  This workshop shared drama strategies with theater teachers and teachers who teach core curriculum content to students from 5th grade through high school.

August 2009 American Alliance of Theatre Educators Conference
Along with colleague Roxy Arrojo from the Educational Arts Team, Sobha presented Using Theater for Conflict Resolution in New York City. This workshop shared methods in addressing conflict in the classroom, specifically bullying and drug prevention. 

August 2009  American Alliance of Theatre Educators Conference
Along with colleague Heidi Stallings from the New Victory Theater, Sobha presented the New Victory Theater's Guiding Principle's Workshop in New York City.  This workshop shared the methodology in which the New Victory Theater's Education Deparment formulated their own guiding principles to develop curriculum and then ways in which to adapt the ideas for each participants needs.  

August 2009  American Alliance of Theatre Educators Conference
The Professionalization of the Teaching Artist was a researched piece developed by Annie Montgomery and Michael Wiggins to explore the profession of Teaching Artistry. I participated in the ensemble as part of the performance.