Creative, adaptable, and visual communicator with abilities to:
1) Work with and relate to many people in a friendly and co-operative manner.
2) Negotiate with different types of client groups adapting methods of communication to their particular needs and requirements.
3) Consult with experts by creating positive links with multi-varient organizations/ specialists.
4) Use different forms of communication, e.g.: workshops, lectures, small groups, preaching, performance, poetry, drama, reports, counselling.
Rosie Best is the founder and artistic director of Issue Box Theatre, whichresulted fromher passion for theatre, education,and social justice.
Best has a wide variety of experiences in working with youth and community populations. She has worked with churches, community centers, colleges, and summer arts programs to develop and deliver programs thatinspire, educate and create change. For ten years, she taught theatre at the Toledo School for the Arts (TSA 2001-2011), during which time she created curriculum for students grades 6-12. She initiated a connection with the Educational Theatre Association for TSA,forming Troupe #6793. She served on the Ohio Educational Theatre Association Board (OEdTA) for 5 years.
During her time at TSA, Best directed a number of award-winning projects, including: Much Ado About Nothing (2009) set backstage at the Circus; Dancing at Lughnasa (2010), and The Heidi Chronicles(2007). In 2008, Best was invited to assemble a company of students to present at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where their production of Sez She, was met with critical acclaim. During her tenureat the School,a social justice theatre production was presentedthrougha community reading ofThe Laramie Projectengaging42 readers (community members, pastors, teachers, staff and students) raising money for Broadway Cares: Equity Fights AIDS.
Since leaving TSA, Best has directed for the OEdTA’s All-Ohio Company ofproduction ofRent: School Edition (2013), Toledo Repertoire’s The Laramie Project and Laramie: Ten Years Later (2013. Issue Box was established in 2015 with the inaugural production of Next to Normal, raising money for the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI). In 2017 Issue Box presented Company raising money for homeless agencies and Remember Me raising money for agencies working with those experiencing dementia.
Best is a team-builder with an infectious and humorous energy that can be both creative and just a bit exhausting! She works to research projects thoroughly and inspires others to bring their “best selves” to the work that they co-create. Best listens to the voices of other as these collaborations occur, and only inserts self-will when a definitive response is required. Best believes this willingness to assimilate options that are brought to the production enrich the total experience for all. During her tenure at TSA, Best convened the Theatre Educators Network (TEN Group), to assist and mentor young theatre professionalsallowingseasoned teacherstowork, learn,and grow together. The group continues to function even though Best is no longer the moderator, she is a member of the group and regularly engages with theatre professionals in the area to encourageand assist them to think creatively about thechallenges of teaching in today’senvironment.
Best qualified as a Social Worker in 2016 and has been working as a Mental Health Therapist in a school-based setting since August 2015 (starting as an intern). She is licensed to practice social work in Ohio. Best would like to be able to creatively bring awareness and change to the stigma surrounding mental health issues. She is the quintessential life-long learner who challenges herself to grow and understand the concerns that she encounters and then looks for creative ways to address those concerns. She is willing to travel, learn, and grow, to better understand people and her community.
Best has also performed as an actor, entertaining audiences with her ability to create amusing and intriguing characters. Favorite roles have included Sylvia (the dog) in Sylvia(1999), Babette (the maid) in A Flea in Her Ear (1999), and Mrs. Winthrop (the teacher) in Secret Garden (2011). She has used her “British-ness” to assist many casts to learn and maintain an English accent, creating entertaining methods to assist them to train their ears. She also recorded the audiobook Theodore Savageby Cecily Hamilton (available on Amazon).
Best received her Master of Arts in Teaching Theatre from Bowling Green State University, and her Master of Social Work from the University of Toledo. She was awarded the Region 1 MSW Social Work student of the Year in 2016 and was nominated for the 2018 YWCA Milestones award for her work with Issue Box Theatre. She completed the summer intensive at the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts (2007), has trained in community activism and outreach with the National LGBTQ Leadership Summit (2014) and most recently has completed the TimeSlips (2018)training.