Karen DeMauro

Karen De Mauro is the Artistic Director of The Acting Center and Naturestages as well as an international presentation coach, actress, professional storyteller, writer, master teacher, and director. Her lifelong mission is to activate the arts in everyone. She works with professionals, communities, families, and enthusiasts of all ages from Broadway to The United Nations, from urban streets to backyards. She creates projects and audience participation performances for National Parks and Zen Shrines of Japan, in corporate Finance and Healthcare, and in museums from The Smithsonian to The Nova Scotia Geology Center. As co-founder of The Center for Nature Writing at Seatuck, she fosters, encourages, and publishes the work of poets, scientists, and writers.

Above all else, she is an educator with a passion to learn from people in all walks of life. Karen collaborates with preachers and teachers as well as policemen and politicians to co-create 50+ original musicals with Broadway Musical Director Steven Alper, Composer David Winkler, and Muralist Caitlin Shea. She brings her five decades of experience with the pioneers of Theatre Education in England and Canada, from Boston University to The Juilliard School, from the experimental theatres of NY to every project and commission. Her forthcoming 2023 book “Acting As A Way: Spiritual Practices for the Actor in Everyone” details the techniques and skills that help people of diverse cultures and backgrounds to share their gifts and be present in public. As an avid hiker, she continues to use what she learned walking across Spain’s Camino de Santiago to facilitate joyful, local pilgrimages and events in everyday local life.