Maria Aladren is a stage director, activist, and educator originally from Zaragoza, Spain. Early on, she developed a love for exploring different forms of human expression across cultures. In the pursuit of such bridges, Ms. Aladren started a theatre company in Austin, Texas, directing a number of productions ranging from classical works to foreign material to original pieces that put together a variety of different voices and points of view. Pegasus51/Theatre won awards at several festivals and was invited to perform at the NYC Fringe Festival. For the past fifteen years, Ms. Aladren has invested her time developing a conservatory theatre program at MCVTS Theatre, teaching and directing young actors. She is now the Academic Specialist for the Performing Arts at Union County College and also continues to direct in the NYC area. She has developed workshops in devised theatre, collaborative creation, applied art, and in the intersection of art and technology, which have been accepted to several conferences, including in the Applied Improv Network in Paris, France this summer and NeMLA in Washington DC this year. Ms. Aladren’s main research focus revolves around the development of curricular and project-based educational programs within the framework of the Performing Arts to educate creative and innovative youngsters. Portfolio at maladren.com