Classical actors train their entire lives to be fully present, powerful, and persuasive on stage.
We’re taking them from the stage to your office to help your team develop powerful communication skills that will build confidence while having fun!

Expand Your Confidence:
Theatre Tools to Communicate with
Power, Presence & Persuasion

Learn what Expand Your Confidence can do for you and your team:

    • use their voice and body to better support their communication goals

    • feel more confident speaking publicly

    • up-level their confidence communicating at work

    • support their team in having more presence, power and persuasion in their communication and public speaking

    Whether you are preparing for a presentation or just ready to feel more confident speaking up at a meeting, Expand Your Confidence will give you practical tools to do just that.

    • Practical, usable tools from the stage for presence, power and persuasion

    • Fun, quirky, interactive workshop

    • Virtual workshops (in person coming soon)

    • Our professional actors and facilitators use their lifelong actor training to bring hard skills of presence to you and your team.

“I was engaged throughout the entire session. I didn’t look at my phone once. I left eager to challenge how to use my voice to really get my message across in the moments I use my voice.”
— Christina, Program Manager
 
 

Program Details

Expand Your Confidence — Full 2-Day Workshop
An interactive, virtual workshop that brings theatre tools to the workplace to develop vocal power, physical presence & action-oriented devices for persuasion. This workshop is a total of 5 hours over two days. Participants will learn hard skills, like vocal tactics, psychological gestures, collaborative communication, and action-based persuasion that can be applied to presentations, meetings, pitches, and more! 

Confidence Boosts
Boosts come as single, hyper-focused, 60-90 minute sessions perfect for a retreat or off-site. Our team will work with you to focus on one skill that will elevate your team’s effective communication. 

“This was spectacular! Love the interactive format.”
— Stephanie
“It was very thought-provoking and a fun discussion and learning exercise about collaboration!”
— Vickie
“Wonderful session! It dusted off some skills I learned in the past but needed to bring back out. Awesome job!”
— Angela
 

Interested?

Contact Sara Hymes at education@hedgepigensemble.org for details.

 
 

Led by women: Meet our facilitators

  • Sara has been an educator in the theatre community for over 10 years. She's taught in youth camps, Montessori school, after-school programs, and university classrooms. Sara has also facilitated training and development in rooms with professional artists as well as in professional development programs with theatre companies like American Shakespeare Center and Hedgepig Ensemble Theatre. She loves collaborating and bringing joy and new perspectives into learning environments. When not teaching, Sara has been on stage as an actor and musician with professional theatres across the country and virtually in the UK. You may have even caught her on your television in national commercials for Invisalign and the CIA.

  • Shannon is an New York based actor and producer who for the last four years has worked towards empowering women through theatre. She has been a youth camp counselor, led theatre workshops with various organizations, a curator for various theaters, an a mediator on artistic panels in California and New York. Shannon has also performed with professional theaters in New York and has most recently become Director of Production for Hedgepig Ensemble Theater. Shannon looks forward to engaging in this work and bringing theatre tools to the corporate world.

 

  • Olivia teaches voice and confidence workshops for NGOs and corporations across the globe. She has worked as an interpretive educator at museums, led professional development workshops for women reentering the workforce, and devised ethnographic theater performances with students in the New York City public school system. In her work as an artist, Olivia has performed in professional theaters across the US and has facilitated performances with artists at the Roy Hart Theatre in Malerargues, France. Olivia enjoys helping students engage their voices, bodies, and hearts in their work.

  • Mary Candler is the founder of Hedgepig Ensemble as well as an actor, teacher, and producer. With years of experience at the helm of various arts organizations, she is a compassionate leader with indefatigable persistence, a trustworthy collaborator, and a proponent of wonder, joy, and the spirit of play. She is the owner/founder of Joyful Singing--a DC voice studio where she teaches singers of all levels to build healthy, strong voices in a warm, laughter-filled environment. Mary is an unexpected Slytherin and holds a BA in Theatre Studies from Duke University and an MFA in Classical Acting from George Washington University.