About Us
“Not being a drama specialist, I have learned so much from watching Erin. I feel I could use some of her ideas on my own.”– Mlle Mitchell – Grade 3 Teacher
Groundwater Workshops, formerly Ask an Actor, was created by Erin Shields in 2004 to provide high quality drama workshops to teachers and students. We deliver programs that respond to social and curriculum needs, often conducting school-wide initiatives that engage students of all ages. We have visited over seventy-five schools in Toronto, the GTA and beyond, returning to most schools for many years. Groundwater Workshops now has a network of trained artist/educators available for bookings.
Erin Shields:
Erin Shields brings fifteen years of experience to her work as an artist/educator. She has conducted drama workshops in over seventy-five schools in the GTA with Groundwater Workshops and lead sessions and classes at York University, OISE, Pleiades Theatre, Soulpepper Theatre, Carousel Players, Theatre Direct Canada, The Blyth Festival, LKTYP and Learning through the Arts.
Erin Shields is a Toronto based playwright and actor who trained at Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama in London, England. She is a founding member of Groundwater Productions through which she creates and develops most of her work including If We Were Birds which received a workshop production at The Summerworks Festival 2008 and a full production at Tarragon Theatre in 2010. The production received five Dora Mavor Moore nominations and won for Best Actress and Sound Design. Other works include Montparnasse (Groundwater/Theatre Passe Muraille), The Epic of Gilgamesh (Groundwater/Summerworks), Dora Nominated The Unfortunate Misadventures of Masha Galinski (Groundwater/Canadian Tour) and Dance of the Red Skirts (Theatre Columbus). Erin is also a playwright in residence at Tarragon Theatre.