Ellen Mimi Schlecht

Ellen Mimi Schlecht (you can call her Mimi!) is a New York City based director, writer, teaching artist, and sometimes-actor, originally from Delaware. A graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Mimi holds a BFA in Drama, BA in Politics, and MA in Arts Politics. Throughout her time at NYU, she trained with Playwrights Horizons Theater School and Atlantic Acting School. She strongly believes in and advocates for theatre as a collective art form that belongs to everyone and exists all around in the day to day. Right now, she is grateful to serve as a Program Coordinator with Broadway Bound Kids, working to expand accessibility to performing arts education. “Love the art in you, not you in the art.”

www.ellenmimi.com

What drew you to the M.A. in Arts Politics:

I've always been fascinated by the intersection of theatre and politics. Growing up, I was heavily involved in both community theatre and local politics. This shaped my understanding of theatre as inherently political. I came to APP to explore this intersection and my wonderings about art as always being linked to some form of political inquiry.

How did your experience in the program shape your work? 

As a theatre artist, it is sometimes difficult to define what it is that you do. At APP, I had the opportunity to explore new mediums and try things out of my comfort zone by working and learning alongside artists of different disciplines. This allowed me to not only expand my toolkit, but also come back home to my preferred medium (theatre) with new eyes and a more solid understanding of my practice. My courses at APP helped me put into words what I do and why I do it.