MBU graduate is American Shakespeare Center’s new director of education programs

American Shakespeare Center’s new Director of Education Programs is Aubrey Whitlock, who joined the center as a box office assistant in 2013.

Whitlock transitioned to Team Education in 2018. Her new position affords her the opportunity to combine her two great loves: Shakespeare and pedagogy.

A native of California’s Central Valley, Whitlock earned a bachelor’s in Theatre Arts from UC Santa Cruz, a master’s in teaching from Chapman University and an MLitt and master’s of fine arts in Shakespeare and Performance from Mary Baldwin University.

For many years, she was a full-time English and Drama teacher in middle and high schools, as well as an actor, stage manager, director and dramaturg. Whitlock is co-creator of the internationally-recognized hit podcast, The Hurly Burly Shakespeare Show.

She began working in ASC’s box office in 2013 while a graduate student and joined Team Education in 2018 under previous Director Sarah Enloe. A vehement proponent of accessible public scholarship, she established programs like Friday Night Lights On and the No Kidding Drama Club to make Shakespeare and the Blackfriars Playhouse more accessible to everyone.

Whitlock’s favorite Shakespeare play is “All’s Well That Ends Well,” and her favorite non-Shakespeare play is Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia.”