Performing Arts

I am a Jersey Girl, originally from Trenton. I moved to Boston to pursue a BFA in acting at Emerson College, which led me to Europe to study mime and to L.A. to study acting for film. After graduating, I co-founded a Boston-based theater company in which I performed, and I oversaw the artistic vision and business management. While working with my own company, I acted professionally in Boston and choreographed and performed with a modern dance company, RedShift.  I realized that as much as I loved performing, I got more gratification from sharing my passion for theater and dance with others and watching them grow as artists. I began to teach in the classroom and to direct and choreograph plays in many Boston area schools and theaters.  Eventually, I connected with Beaver, directing and choreographing in the afternoon program for more than 10 years.

I left the States to travel and teach theater in Andalucia, Spain, where I lived and worked for two years, but the performing arts chair position at Beaver lured me back to the US. I am thrilled to be back at Beaver as chair of the performing arts department, and I feel lucky to have the opportunity to merge my skills, understanding, and passion for the performing arts with our independent and creative students.  Through exposing the students to a range of performing opportunities—both curricular and co-curricular—we allow them to find and express their voice in many different ways, and we encourage them to explore differing viewpoints and unfamiliar cultures.

I come from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where I came to music early after my mother taught me how to work her turntable and gave me a stack of Motown and doo-wop 45rpm records. I left Pennsylvania to attend Oberlin Conservatory for voice and music education, and then continued working on both sides of the podium at Yale University, where I am the only student to have completed a Master’s of Music in both voice and choral conducting. Despite my classical training, I am very much a pop nerd and will never be able to commit to only creating or listening to one type of music full-time.

After leaving Yale, I moved to Boston to teach music and have continued gigging as a classical singer ever since. Then, I spent two years in Japan, teaching classroom music just outside of Tokyo. When it was time for me to return to the States, I was happy to be offered the position at Beaver, where I’m enjoying the chance to share my multidirectional, multicultural approach to music with its open-minded students and the rest of the Beaver community.

Bethany Eddy comes to Beaver with an MFA in Costume Design from UMass Amherst; Bachelor Degree in Visual and Performing Arts from Worcester State; and 10 years working costuming for theater.

Before that, Eddy created costume’s on commission for cosplay and freelance costuming for individual play productions. She is also a costume craft artisan, which means she can build big pieces of costumes that are not clothing (ex: hats, wings, and backpacks).

As a student, I was fortunate to attend schools where I felt challenged, supported, and encouraged, and I have always loved learning and being in a classroom.  I have also always loved theatre, from making up plays as a child to acting in numerous productions in college.  But I discovered that I loved teaching theatre entirely by accident, when I accepted a position via a former teacher and colleague to teach theatre at a school in Switzerland.

That decision, to not only move to a foreign country but also to try teaching, has changed the scope of my life since.  I’ve been fortunate to travel to many different places and teach in many different environments – from Newton to New York City, and from Switzerland to India.  What I love most about teaching theatre, aside from how much fun I have every day, is that I have the opportunity to see my students grow more confident and self-assured, more open-minded and collaborative, and more appreciative of diverse backgrounds and views.

A very talented theater teacher and director once said to me, “teaching high school drama is really teaching self-esteem through the experience of creating high-quality Theater.” Every single drama exercise, performance, and character study that a high school student participates in teaches them about themselves in a way that can be hard to define. Each challenge, fear, and struggle that culminates in a failure or success is a learning moment. It is a learning moment about drama, themselves, and life. Each drama activity is about problem solving – a life skill that I feel is one of the most valuable. So why is teaching theater so important to me? I spent most of my high school years trying to figure out who I was, and I didn’t excel in the same areas that my peers did. It was difficult for me to feel confident except when it came to drama. It made me feel talented, important, and even beautiful. Each day that I have the privilege to teach teenagers to love themselves through the study of theater is what makes me feel alive. I feel so fulfilled by watching a student tackle the obstacles of learning how to use their bodies and voices and minds to learn about what kind of person they are becoming. It is one of the most electrifying experiences I know of. I look forward to starting my twentieth year teaching, advising, directing and producing plays here at Beaver. I am also a big fan of all that is pop culture, movies and TV watching. I spend as much time as I can with my husband, my two cats, Chrissy and Janet, and laughing with my seven-year-old son Gus.

I was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, where I began classical piano studies at the age of six. I continued my classical training at the Landaeta National Conservatory in Caracas. In 1996, under the guidance of Faride Mijares, I undertook formal studies of Afro-Cuban percussion. Two years later, I was awarded a scholarship to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston, where I was the first recipient of the Tito Puente Percussion Achievement Award in April, 1999. I have performed with internationally recognized artists Juan De Marcos Gonzalez, Eddie Palmieri, Kenwood Dennard, Eguie Castrillo, Giovanni Hidalgo, John Benitez, Jane Bunnett, Pedro “Pedrito” Martinez and Oscar Stagnaro. As a band leader, my latest project is Obbini Tumbao. Formed in 2005 in collaboration with pianist Rebecca Cline, our septet makes regular appearances at Boston’s Blue Note venue, The Regattabar.  I am currently working towards a master’s degree in Music Education from the University of Florida. I’ve been teaching at Beaver since 2003, and I love it. I find that teaching music is an extremely rewarding experience. The school’s community is very supportive and wonderful to be part of. In addition to teaching and directing four of the upper school jazz band courses, I’m lucky to direct the all-girls band, Ikonoclastic, as an afternoon activity.  I also have the privilege to direct the Cuban Jazz Ensemble bi-yearly. One of the best parts of this course is that, during the first week of spring break, I get to take my students on a 8-day trip to Havana!

My background in professional theater defines my teaching style, but my passion for theater was sparked as a student in high school; theater was both an outlet and an anchor. At Beaver, our Technical Theater program follows a professional model, ensuring that our students get an authentic experience. More importantly, we focus on creative problem solving, freedom of expression, and productive collaboration. I love having the opportunity to work with students to design and execute projects and productions, and seeing them enjoy both a depth of study and creative freedom afforded to few student technicians elsewhere.