Vanessa
Strahan
Producer, Educator, Artist, Coach,
Non-Profit Leader, Strategist
ABOUT
ME!
Vanessa is a producer, educator, director, choreographer, and non-profit leader located in Aspen/Snowmass, Colorado.
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She closes her 4 year tenure as the Director of Education at Theatre Aspen in Fall 2025, having produced and directed nearly 20 productions, taught hundreds of young artists, and significantly expanded the Education Department's footprint in the Roaring Fork Valley. As a theatre artist she's now transitioning into private coaching and freelance creative, and is excited to expand her practice in the RFV with different companies and individual artists.
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Prior to coming to the valley, she worked in Chicago as the Education Director at Mudlark Theater, as well as with companies such as Northlight Theatre, The Actor's Gymnasium, Joel Hall Dancers & Company, & Seesaw Theare. She's also a proud founding member of Arts Ed Chi, an arts education advocacy and training coalition for Chicago area companies.
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She graduated from Northwestern University with a B.S. in Theatre, minor in Political Science, and specialties in Musical Theatre and Choreography. she's passionate about inclusive and accessible arts, community & youth empowerment, and excellent artistic and technical production.
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When she's not in rehearsal or teaching, you can find her at the gym, on the slopes, listening to true crime podcasts, baking, or re-watching The West Wing for the 32nd time. ​​​
Creative & Coaching
Philosophy & Approach
Over my past decade as a teaching artist, I have experienced firsthand the impact of meaningful arts education on students of all backgrounds and abilities. By fostering agency, creative-decision making, self-advocacy, and play through the performing arts, I hope to facilitate spaces where young people can become better communicators, collaborators, and community members. Time and experience have only strengthened my belief in theater as an essential tool of social-emotional learning, and the centrality of empathy to community health and joy.
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Those life skills come from the joy of the process, but I pride myself of being able to find that joy while also producing artistic and technical excellence. As a director, choreographer, and coach, my approach brings out the best in each artist on technical and individual levels. Personalizing method, material, and mindset allows me to meet each artist where they are and craft an accelerated path towards where they'd like to grow.
Let's Get Started
After working with hundreds of artists both youth and adult, I'm still in love with finding each breakthrough moment.
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My artistic coaching is personalized to your goals. Whether it's acting technique, vocal production and technique, dance conditioning and choreography, college audition preparation, or developing your creative voice, it's always the right time to sharpen your skill and mind set.
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As a director and choreographer, I pride myself on optimizing every available resource to create productions that are visually stunning, emotionally captivating, and strike right to the core of the team's artistic vision.
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Leadership & Admin
Arts & Nonprofit Leadership
My interest in arts administration and non-profit leadership was sparked when I experience firsthand the impact of universal and accessible arts education, and realized I was equipped with the tools to stretch the impact of that work to new orders of magnitude.
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Through conscientious leadership, diligent financial planning & analysis, thorough communication and outreach, and community focused program development, I have cultivated a proven record of improving the quality and quantity of work of each company at which I've had the privilege to serve. In or outside the arts and education space, I believe mission driven non-profit work is essential to creating thriving communities, and am excited to work with organizations that are committed to optimizing their resources to create meaningful impact.
Production & Events
Production Management
Beginning on the smallest scale as a Teaching Artist who had to pull together every technical element of each class' performance to finish a residency, I recognized how integral technical and production management were to an audience or participant's experience.
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Now having lead production management of dozens of plays and musicals in venues ranging from 500 seat technically advanced theatres to outdoor ampitheaters requiring importation of any technical elements, I love to make the most of every team and every project. By tuning into organization, communication styles, resource optimization, and budget management, I'm able to prioritize both process and product to make artistically and experientially excellent events.
