Agnolia B. Gay is a parent, educator, student advocate, speech and drama coach, director, poet and writer. As an “actress who teaches”, she is a veteran educator of 19 years’ experience in the classroom, with 15 of those years at the Central High School National Historic Site in Little Rock. She relocated to Jacksonville, Florida, in the summer of 2012, and pursued a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership. She taught two years in the Duval County Public Schools in the area of Drama, and has just finished teaching one year at Pine Bluff High School, where she taught Oral Communication and Drama I.

She also brings to the table an abundance of acting experience from high school and college, along with community-based performances in Los Angeles, California, Little Rock, and the surrounding areas. She has directed plays, and worked with churches, city-wide functions, and family reunions, including directing and performing in plays at Central High School and in Lake Forest College outside of Chicago. Her cast includes members from 2 years old to 80 years old.

For the past 15 years, Agnolia has facilitated workshops for both teachers and students through the A+ Network and Great Expectations Programs coordinated through the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, the Arkansas Education Association, and the Association for the Study of African Life and History organization (aka ASALH).

Her success as a teacher and her passion for the theater has motivated her to take this unique arts integration opportunity beyond the classroom setting of typical speech or drama and transfer it to the community. Some of the following proven projects and activities have engaged her students both in and out of the classroom in effective approaches to lifelong learning:

1. Showtime in the Classroom/Church House

2. Acting Up vs. Acting Out in the Classroom/ Community

3. Drama is more than just a Play,/p>

4. Classroom/Community/Church Feud

5. Skits/Poetry Readings, Play Productions and More.

Agnolia’s “Arts Integration” concept empowers teachers, parents and community leaders as a whole to use drama, or “The Arts,” in any type of setting through, plays, poetry, oral presentations and visual demonstrations of their projects.

Agnolia's vision is to make a positive and effective difference in our community, our city and our world. Her purpose is to use the elements of drama to reach out and touch lives to motivate, inspire, educate and entertain audiences of all ages. Her programs are adapted to each situation and can include improvisation and pantomime, singing, dancing, poetry and prose.

microphones (cordless and or lapel mics preferred; indoor performances preferred, but will do outdoor events