Missi Smith
Director & Choreographer
Missi Smith has been the Executive Director at The Merc Playhouse for seven years. Prior to that, she was on the board of directors for a number of years. In her time at The Merc, she has directed, choreographed, and acted in a number of plays. Missi grew up in Indiana where she trained and performed in dance and musical theater. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and a Master’s Degree in English before finding her way to Washington in 2004. Besides all things performing arts, she loves biking, skiing, and paddle boarding all over the Methow Valley.
Part 1 – Introduction
Meet Missi Smith, the Executive Director of the Merc Playhouse in Twisp, Washington. She is also a theater director and choreographer. Missi talks about how she started dancing and made her way into theater.
Part 2 – Producing A Show
Missi talks about the process of producing shows at the Merc Playhouse from producing musicals versus a straight play to how she interprets music into dance.
Part 3 – School Subjects in Dance
Missi talks about how she uses a variety of school subjects, like math and literacy, while teaching dance.
Part 4 – Dance & Theater Are Empowering
Missi explains how theater and dance bring people together to form a community and that both mediums are possible for anyone, at any level, to participate in.
Part 5 – Examples of Incorporating Dance Into Lessons
Missi talks about how she got to where she is today. Then she shares some ideas for bringing dance, theater and art into the classroom.
The NCESD Early Learning team has prepared a lesson plan for you to use in your classroom that was inspired by Missi’s work. You can view the document below or click the “pop out” button in the top right corner to open it in a new tab to download the PDF file.
