Faculty Artists

When your art teacher comes to class after firing a kiln-full of bowls, you can tell she is deeply connected to her craft. The result is teaching that feels real, practical—and also inspiring. Williston arts faculty are practicing artists. Whether on the stage, at the barre, in the studio, or in the costume shop, they are pursuing their passions both as teachers and as creative professionals. What that means for you is an enriched environment where the arts are energetically alive.

CHORAL + INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

I’m a cellist, singer, and composer, and I enjoy making music in a variety of settings. As a cellist, my current practice centers on adapting non-western techniques and repertoire to the cello. Prior to Williston, I toured as a soloist in Japan, appeared in the Noise Pop Music Festival in San Francisco, served as a Dance Accompanist at the Juilliard School in New York, and worked as an international theater artist as Music Director of Double Edge Theatre. While earning a Masters Degree at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, I also served as Music Program Director for pediatric inpatient behavioral health at Tufts Medical Center. Since 2012, I have been a member of the Advisory Board of Hilltown Youth Recovery Theatre. As an educator, I aim to help students gain meaningful experiences in music and to empower them with the skills they need to compose their lives.

VISUAL ART

I am a ceramicist and produce a line of handmade functional pottery called “slow studio.” I think of myself as a designer as well as a maker and the designs of my pieces are intended to reflect my interest in simplicity and harmony. I am inspired by natural elements and interpret light, textures and forms of nature through clay. Both my personal practice and teaching feed each other to keep each endeavor fresh and vibrant.

PHOTO + VIDEO

Making has always been a way for me to reflect on and better understand the world around me. I first fell in love with photography during my early experiences in the darkroom, and since then I have remained fascinated by analog image-making in all its forms, continually drawn to the magic of creating images with light. As an artist, I work primarily with photography and video art, always searching for new ways to express my feelings and ideas through images. Whether I am shooting a video, squishing raspberries to make an anthotype emulsion, or taking photographs inside of plastic bags, I love to tinker, experiment, and follow wherever creativity leads me. Teaching is an extension of this practice, and I find joy in sharing my passion with students and helping them discover how to tell their own stories through lens-based media.

TECHNICAL THEATER

I’m primarily a set and light designer for live performances locally. Most of my stage designs incorporate light as an aesthetic element as well as a thematic component. In recent years, I’ve traveled to London to study video and projection mapping as well as to Makerspace workshops at MIT. These are being integrated it into my own work, and into my teaching at Williston, where I continue to explore ways to bring physical aspects of the stage to life.

THEATER

While I spend most of my time in the theater these days teaching acting and directing stage productions, my training is in dramaturgy and dramatic criticism. As a dramaturg, I have worked on new play development with aspiring and professional playwrights, collaborated with ensembles in devised projects, and adapted classical texts for contemporary production. For my dissertation, I translated three Spanish modernist plays that were not previously available in the English language. My passion for translation and adaptation informs my work as a director and acting teacher, as I gravitate to texts that reimagine ancient stories and dramatic conventions for contemporary audiences.

VISUAL ART, CERAMICS, YEARBOOK

Since I could hold a crayon, my first love has been representational portraiture. Over the years I’ve worked in a variety of wet and dry media, always coming back around to brightly expressive figures and faces. I also create functional pottery; where I can simply get lost in the relaxing experience of a beautifully crafted mug or play with altered ceramic forms.  Just as I use art as a way to explore the world and capture the memories of people in my life, my objective is to teach students ways in which they can tell their stories through art.

DANCE

When I am not working with the Williston Dance Ensemble, I enjoy training students of all ages at my dance studio in town, Art In Motion. My touring company, The Legible Bodies, produces contemporary dance performance for stage and screen. I truly love creating original choreography and producing dance events in the greater Easthampton area, and I take every opportunity to make dance happen in my community and beyond!

COSTUME DESIGN

Ashley E. Tyler has been the costume designer for the Williston Northampton School since 2015. She worked for many years in professional costume shops across the country including The Long Wharf Theater, Hartford Stage, The Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Michael Curry Designs. She has had the amazing good fortune to have worked on shows with some of the nation’s top theater artists including several Tony award winners. Her work at Williston combines her two passions of both teaching and creating. In her free time, you will find her in her yard gardening or out training for next year’s road race. She holds an M.F.A in Costume Design from the University of Portland.