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Andrew M. Gaines, PhD

 Exploring the intersections of performance, scholarship, healing, and activism.

  • About
  • Productions
    • The Disputation in Sevilla, España
    • Six Characters Presents: Best Show Ever!
    • Kindergarten Truck
    • Two Weeks with the Queen
    • Shluff No More: An Immersive Shpiel Experience
    • Shushan Night Live
    • Shushan Style: A J-Pop Purim!?!
  • Publications
    • Kindergarten Truck: Participatory Play in Public
    • Physical Theatre Education: Beyond Knowledge Transfer
    • The History, Trends, and Future of North American Drama Therapy
    • Ambassadors of Aesthetic Experience: The Healing Legacy of Maxine Greene
    • Between Drama Education and Drama Therapy: International Approaches to Successful Navigation
    • Reflections on the Life of Maxine Greene and the Forum on the Teaching Artist: Navigation, Innovation, and Sustainability
    • Reflections on Traumatized Drama Therapists
    • The Gift of the Present(ation)
  • Community Engagement
    • Kindergarten Truck
    • Interfaith Medical Center
    • ManKind Project
    • FACES Teen Heath Education Theatre
    • Hurricane Sandy Puppet Project
    • Jewish Topography: Shmoozing in Action
    • Shluff No More: An Immersive Shpiel Experience
    • Shushan Night Live
    • Shushan Style: A J-Pop Purim!?!
  • Presentations
    • Tabletop Journey
    • Keynote Address in Shanghai, China
    • Researching and Composing Authoethnodramatic Monologues
    • Rehabilitation and Transformation: Drama Therapy Strategies and Dialogues
    • Educators’ Forum: Strategies for Wellness
    • Ethical Praxis Discourse: Theatre, Education, Therapy, and Activism
  • Praise
    • Performance Award: NADTA
    • New York Times Review: Who Needs Words if You Have Ham?
    • Los Angeles Times Review: “Gaines has an appealing spark”
  • Curriculum Vitae

Community Engagement

Jan 29 2018

ManKind Project

As a Diversity Trainer, I have helped dismantle misogyny and homophobia through the Mankind Project (MKP) since 2008. Using dramatic play, we facilitate powerful awakenings for men. Tens of thousands of men have improved their emotional intelligence and forged bonds outside their communities through these transformative experiences. I transfer the awareness wrought from this work […]

Written by Andrew M Gaines · Categorized: Community Engagement

Aug 01 2015

Kindergarten Truck

I conceived, produced, directed, and performed in this public performance experience staged inside a box truck. Audiences were briefly transported back to the magical world of childhood guided by playful actors. Much more information and blog posts can be found on my dedicated website: kindergartentruck.com

Written by Andrew M Gaines · Categorized: Community Engagement, Productions

Mar 04 2015

Shluff No More: An Immersive Shpiel Experience

To illuminate scenes from The Book of Esther, I orchestrated a 60-member crew to guide 400 audience members across nine locations of a three-story synagogue in 2 hours. Organizing the logistics required tremendous planning. With the help of my dear friend Scott Osman, here is a glimpse at how I finally laid out the teams: […]

Written by Andrew M Gaines · Categorized: Community Engagement, Productions

Oct 04 2014

Sacred Play: Enacting Forgiveness

Atonement on Yom Kippur can be deepened through imagination, community-building, and sacred play. Alongside Shoshana Jedwab (and once with her partner Jill Hammer), I have developed and facilitated several creative breakout sessions preceding the final prayer service, Neilah. Dramatic strategies have helped me create unique spaces for engaging, immersive prayer at Romemu. Informed by expressive […]

Written by Andrew M Gaines · Categorized: Community Engagement

Jun 04 2014

Jewish Topography: Shmoozing in Action

Each year, NYC’s Jewish Community Center celebrates the holiday of Shavuot with an all-night learning event, Tikkun, meaning “heal.” Jews of all races, denominations, genders, ages, orientations, and levels of observance attended my session, inviting them to “delve, encounter, connect, and discover the breadth and depth of our communal and individual identities through a series […]

Written by Andrew M Gaines · Categorized: Community Engagement

Mar 15 2014

Shushan Night Live

I co-authored, directed, and performed in this community-engaged Theatre of Faith performance project on The Book of Esther at Romemu synagogue, framed shamelessly around the structures and sketches of Saturday Night Live.  Our “Cold Open” was Caveman Lawyer defending King Ahashverosh against Vashti over her refusal to dance, and from there we were off to the races […]

Written by Andrew M Gaines · Categorized: Community Engagement, Productions

Feb 03 2013

Shushan Style: A J-Pop Purim!?!

This was my 3rd Purim Shpiel at Romemu, a community-engaged Theatre of Faith performance project on The Book of Esther at Romemu synagogue. This year’s concept was all based on popular media themes. One of my favorite moments was a slow motion battle fought with giant pencils to music from Les Miserables. The title of […]

Written by Andrew M Gaines · Categorized: Community Engagement, Productions

Nov 17 2012

Hurricane Sandy Puppet Project

In the weeks following Hurricane Sandy, children were among the most neglected bystanders. My collaborator David Schechter and I travelled to Far Rockaway Beach in Queens, NY to contribute a puppet performance to the Rockaway Kids Carnival. We rented a van to bring fellow volunteers to the site and used the back as a makeshift […]

Written by Andrew M Gaines · Categorized: Community Engagement

Aug 10 2012

FACES Teen Health Education Theatre: Maimonides Medical Center

In 2012, I was hired as the new Director of FACES, Maimonides Medical Center’s teen health educational company in Borough Park, Brooklyn. I left Interfaith Medical Center after nearly 8 years for the opportunity to more fully integrate my clinical skills with pedagogy, artistic expression, and civic activism. Together with a diverse cast of teenagers, […]

Written by Andrew M Gaines · Categorized: Community Engagement

Jun 01 2012

Interfaith Medical Center

From 2005-2012, I worked full-time at Interfaith Medical Center on 3 different units using Drama Therapy. Inpatient Adult Acute Psychiatric Unit I began as Psychiatric Rehabilitation Therapist working with patients suffering from a wide range of diagnoses. Most of our clients were in crisis and considered to be a danger to themselves or others. Charged […]

Written by Andrew M Gaines · Categorized: Community Engagement

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Contact

andrewmgaines@nyu.edu | 347.674.8280

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