Shawnda Salazar
Shawnda graduated summa cum laude from Northeastern Oklahoma State University with a B.A. in Theatre. While in college, she received the Outstanding Languages and Communications Division Student Award, the Outstanding Accomplishments in Theatre Award, and the Excellence in Acting at ACTF award. She acted in numerous plays with KAST Players and TCP Players in Oklahoma, receiving best actress and best supporting actress awards for various plays while also acting in student films, t.v. commercials and radio spots. As a director and teacher at the Heller Theatre in Oklahoma, Shawnda prepared high school seniors for the college/professional auditioning process, wrote and directed musicals for ages 6-10, and coached children through classes such as character voices, theater games, and basic improv. Upon graduation, she acted as principle actress and education coordinator with the Omaha Theater Company's National tour of "Where the Red Fern Grows", a production that reached thousands of children and administrators. During that time, she taught teachers the benefits of incorporating theater in the classroom and how. She also taught creative puppetry and theater games workshops to children. After Omaha, she was hired as a theater director at Ballibay Performing Arts Summer Camp in Pennsylvania. She directed over 15 plays with more than 200 children while additionally teaching playwriting classes. After moving to Columbia, Missouri she acted as assistant director and script rewriter for PACE's James and the Giant Peach and taught acting classes as needed. She wrote for the Mexico Ledger newspaper and was also the Apple School's head 3's teacher before she took a break to start her family in 2005. Now that her 4-year-old twin girls and her 2-year-old daughter are older, Shawnda looks forward to playing professionally with her girls by her side.
