Dr. Gail Humphries Mardirosian, professor of theatre at American University in Washington, D.C., holds a strong national and international record as an arts educator, theatre director and administrator. A Fulbright Senior Scholar in Prague, Czech Republic, she currently (January-June 2009) teaches and directs at the Academy of Performing Arts. She is also writing a book entitled Exceptional Teaching, Exceptional learning: using the arts as a pathway to success, K-16. Prior to her current sabbatical, Gail served for six years (2002-2008), as the Chair of the Department of Performing Arts at American University, administering programs in music, theatre/musical theatre/dance and arts management. In this capacity, Gail provided oversight for the opening of a new state of the art theatre (Greenberg Theatre) and a new comprehensive visual and performing arts center (Katzen Arts Center). Her awards at American include: Outstanding Service to the University, the Outstanding Teaching Award for the College of Arts and Sciences and Outstanding Teaching in the Arts from Alpha Chi Omega. She has directed 106 productions in varied national and international venues, ranging from musicals, serious dramas, the classics to children's theatre. With particular interest in cross-disciplinary instruction, K-16, she founded Imagination Quest (IQ), over 12 years ago, as an arts-integration curriculum, teacher training and research project, serving as the principal investigator for over $600,000 in grants for research.
International theatre is an important focus of Gail's work. She has upcoming invitational presentations (spring 2009) scheduled at the University of Gothenburg (Sweden) and Charles University (Czech Republic). Her current directing project is entitled "Voices of Terezin . . . the arts as spiritual resistance," with performances scheduled in Prague and on-site at the Attic Theatre of the Terezin ghetto for spring 2009. International highlights of her work include the following presentations and productions:

• "Chekhov's Three Sisters Revisited," a published paper describing the English debut of a new Czech adaptation of Chekhov's work, performed at the Embassy of the Czech Republic and presented at The Catholic University in Ruzemberok, Slovakia (2008)
• Project ARTS (American Russian Theatre Symposium), a production of They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, performed at the World Russian Forum (2007) and at the 7th International Festival of the Russian State Academic Volkov Theatre in Yaroslavl, Russia (2006)
• "An American Voicing of the Silenced Theatre of Josef Topol," a published paper presented at the University of the South in Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic, focusing on her directing of new English translations of the works of the Czech playwright, Josef Topol (2005)
• "Parallel Power: Periklean Athens and Antigone from Page to Stage at American University," a published paper presented at an international invitational symposium in Delphi, Greece, at thee European Cultural Centre, sponsored by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture (2004)
• "Literacy Learning for At-risk Students Through Arts-based Instruction," a published paper presented at the International Conference on Learning in London, England (2003)

At American, Gail hosted arts administrators, artists and educators through state visits and open dialogue from many different countries including China, Egypt, Germany, Greece, Korea, Norway, Pakistan, Russia, Serbia and Sweden.
She has presented more than 100 master classes, workshops and papers throughout the U.S., including invited presentations at the Florida Association of Theatre Educator's conference (In Search of Shakespeare), the New England Theatre Conference (Teach to Reach: Arts Based Teaching and Learning), and at Brown University's No Teacher Left Behind Conference (Learning to Read, Reading to Learn). Gail has worked as a consultant with numerous non-profit performing arts organizations, most recently (fall 2008) consulting with faculty and administration at Georgia College & State University, as part of an internationalization grant. This consulting involved the development and implementation of a Think Tank entitled "Understanding and Inspiring Global Citizens Who Want to Shape Tomorrow's World."
Other publications include: The Chronicle of Higher Education, "How to Use Theatre to Teach At-Risk Students"; "Transforming the Classroom Teacher Into a Teaching Artist" in Teaching Artist Journal;" an e-journal article entitled "The Quest to Captivate Hearts and Minds in the Classroom: Teaching to Reach and Foster Creativity and Giftedness in Children" at www.TheatroEdu.gr; "The Theatre of Psychology, the Psychology of Theatre" in the Journal of Teaching Psychology; and "The Quest to Reach Potential through the Arts: An Instructional Guide for Teachers."