About This Artist
Natasha Mirny (“Happy Theater”)
Art Form(s)
TheatreArtist Credentials
Maryland Wolf Trap Baby Artsplay! Trained
Maryland Wolf Trap Teaching Artist
MSAC Teaching Artist Roster
About this Artist
Pronouns: she/her
Natasha Mirny is a teaching artist, performer, stage director, and founder of Happy Theater. She is currently working as a teaching artist at several theaters and educational programs in the DC area—Inspired Child, Arts for Learning, and Wolf Trap—designing and implementing art integration programs for teachers and students in public schools in DC, VA, and MD. Her background is in pantomime, puppetry, and physical theater. For the past five years, Natasha has devised and directed nine shows for children from 0 to 12 years old. Her last show for young audiences, which she wrote and directed for Arts On The Horizon, was nominated for Helen Hayes award in 2019 as an Outstanding Production – Theatre for Young Audiences.
View videos of Natasha Mirny (“Happy Theater”) in action!Testimonials
“I want to start off by saying Natasha’s performance in the workshop was wonderful. My students enjoyed it so much they have been begging to watch the video in order to experience it again. I would love to have had Natasha’s theater as a residency. There is so much we can do with the shadow theater. With literacy, mathematics, and science...everything. I love that she came with her own set of classroom management techniques. It was refreshing to see that happen.”
“Natasha created a friendly and inviting atmosphere in the studio, engaging families with young children in the process of making shadow puppets before the show. The project was age-appropriate and part of the literacy mission of the workshop. The children and adults were captivated by the puppet show. Afterward, everyone got a chance to become a puppeteer and try the puppet characters they created behind the stage. Natasha also demonstrated how parents can continue the experience at home and use shadow theater to enhance reading skills of their children and to create meaningful and engaging storytime for children and the whole family.”
