Theatre Artist & Youth Arts Advocate

As an artist and youth advocate, Kristina wears many hats. She is the Director of Innovation and Engagement at Sitar Arts Center in Washington, DC. where she leads the innovation team in designing, implementing, and supporting arts-based workforce development programs for youth ages 14-24. Additionally, she works as the Director of Education at Young Artists of America, a youth-focused musical theatre training company for singers, actors, dancers, and musicians in Rockville, MD.

Kristina’s scholarly-artistic work focuses on two main avenues of inquiry: (1) presence and participation in digital and in-person rehearsals/performances and (2) audience engagement strategies that extend contact time with a performance to fuel responsive interactions between artists and the audience. Artistically, she explores these subjects through diverse approaches to theatre performance centered on social change. Whether devising socially engaged work, directing plays and musicals, or crafting original interactive performances, Kristina experiments with opportunities for play between artists and audiences as a means of building connection and coalition towards community-desired change.

Kristina recently completed her MFA in Theatre for Youth and Community at Arizona State University. She has completed a certificate in teaching at Notre Dame of Maryland and holds a BA in Theatre from the University of Maryland