Your students laugh and learn their way toward success in Language Arts by improvising and overacting in zany scenes with The Melodramatic Teaching Artist, Chris Espinosa-XYZ. Chris integrates the silliness of sketch comedy and boo-hiss-yay melodramas with Language Arts (poetry, expository, or narrative) in his improv/writing residencies, workshops, and assemblies.

Although his lessons are full of comedy, he's serious about providing authentic art experiences that motivate students to discover their voice as a writer on the page and as a performer on the stage. One teacher wrote, “Chris Espinosa provided an engaging week…His exuberant personality hooked the fourth-grade students...The connections we made with him and the artistry we experienced have left a lasting impression.” Many schools that hosted Chris have experienced higher scores on state mandated tests.

In the classroom, Chris has 20 years' experience as a Teaching Artist and has presented over 100 residencies (2,000+ classroom hours). He also has 30 years’ experience on stage as an actor, writer, director, and producer. He will complete his Teaching Artist Certification training by July 2024. He's on many artist rosters, including: Young Audiences of Northeast Texas (Tyler); Texas Commission on the Arts; Authors and More (Austin); ArtsSmart (Texarkana); Southwest Arkansas Arts Council (Hope, AR); Arkansas Arts Council; Mississippi Arts Council; and Mississippi Whole Schools.