Background

Over twenty five years of teaching and working in the field of Theatre Arts has only increased Chrystal’s passion for the art form. She considers it a great privilege and exciting challenge to co-create with the Creator and guide budding artists to do the same. She has served on staff at Seattle Children’s Theatre, Stage One: Louisville’s Theatre for Young Audiences, and Taproot Theatre in Seattle. In addition to teaching at these theatres, she has developed theatre curriculum for programs such as the YMCA after school enrichment program, All-the-Arts-for-All-the-Kids (Fullerton, CA school district), and Odyssey of the Mind. During graduate school at Western Washington University she was the Co-Developer (supervised by faculty mentor Dr. Deb Currier) and Elementary Program Director for WWU’s now very popular Summer Youth Theatre Institute (SYTI).

Since 2008 she has taught at Northwest University in the Communications and English departments as well as for the College of Education, Center for Online and Extended Education and Church Partnership Program. In addition to frequently attending local fine arts events, Chrystal also very much enjoys playing tennis, urban walking, plant-based cooking, cheering on local sports teams and sipping really good espresso - most often in the company of her husband, Kurt. She is an active member of North Creek Presbyterian Church where she has taught Sunday school for all ages, served as a Life-Group leader for high school girls, participated in mission experiences and ministry teams and co-led classes and seminars with her husband who is a Presbyterian minister and serves as the Pastor at North Creek Pres. Chrystal and Kurt have two adult daughters who bring joy and enrichment to their family life. Currently, Grace works in social services in the greater Seattle area and Katie is an assistant account executive with WE Communications.

Hobbies

Recreational tennis, cross country skiing, urban walking and hiking, vegan cooking & baking

Interests

Regional arts (theatre, music, dance & visual art), theatrical adaptation of literature

Recommended Reading

• The Women of Lockerbie by Deborah Brevoort
• Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman
• A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
• The Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt Brecht
• Anything by August Wilson and Shakespeare!

Recommended Viewing

• Much Ado About Nothing, produced by The Public Theatre, summer 2019 (subsequently made viewable via PBS's Great Performances program)
• Lion (2016 film directed by Garth Davis and written by Luke Davies)
• Come From Away (currently on Broadway, national tour coming soon)