I am drawn to the question of how art can empower individuals and communities. I have a long history of working with marginalized and at risk artists including teens, first generation college students, homeless women, and children in public housing.  I help these performers find a voice to tell their stories.

…if American theater artists are to continue creating important theater works that remind us who we are and that show us what we might become, then the army currently being trained in Holly Holsinger’s creative bootcamp will undoubtedly feature prominently therein.   –Matthew Earnest, International Theatre Director and Devisor

With Truth: A Search for Home

Conceiver/Co-creator/Director

In rehearsal for Station Hope, a community festival celebrating freedom and social justice, three students work to create  With Truth. In the piece a young woman stands on a precipice—a moment of significant change. She is guided by the words of Sojourner Truth and the stories of the generations of women in her family. She asks what it means to find her own truth and to be able to create “home.”

Bringing Henrietta to Life

Conceiver/Co-creator/Co-Director

This original work, created in reaction to the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, seeks to reveal a deeper and very human side of the Henrietta story. The project began as an educational companion to the book. Growing interest in the project led to a film of the work pairing students and professionals.

Night Comes Walking

Creator/Director

Performed by seven young actresses, Night Comes Walking weaves together poems of female writers of the Harlem Renaissance, bringing these powerful and stunning words to life through speech, action, and song. Echoing the past and focusing the present, Night Comes Walking celebrates the timeless power, struggle, and beauty of black women in America and was featured at Station Hope, a community celebration of freedom.

Sleep This Year Has No Authority

Creator/Director

A student-performed theatre piece inspired by the magical place between awake and asleep known as Theta Rhythm and the poetry of Rumi. Theta waves occur in the brain between wakefulness and sleep and offer a creative playground for the imagination.

The Ancestra Project

Creator/Director

The Ancestra project brought together a group of women from the community of all ages, cultures, and backgrounds to examine contemporary issues through the lens of the 4^th National Women’s Rights Convention, Cleveland, 1853. The project resulted in a performance which focused on “our grandmothers,” and their contribution to our present lives.