I am a Doctoral Candidate of Health Communication at the University of Maryland and I am completing this research for my dissertation. I have been involved in theatre since I was in middle school and I hold a BA in theatre from Penn State. I have taught youth theatre summer camps, taught college-level acting, and directed shows at Penn State York, where I also co-advised the campus theatre group. I have watched many people learn, grow, and blossom in the theatre and I want to use my research to help cultivate interest in keeping these programs alive and well in a time where the arts are receiving many cuts, especially in education. I believe that participating in theatre is good for a person’s overall well-being and I hope to provide some hard evidence of that through my dissertation research. I also hope to be able to use this evidence to create stronger social and health interventions using performing arts techniques.