Andrea DeCrescenzo is a theatre artist, actor, and educator. As a child born with cerebral palsy, the theatre afforded her the opportunity to escape the reality of everyday challenges and explore various aspects of life through the use of role play and other theatre based techniques. Although she got her start as an actor in regional theatre productions, Andrea soon realized as a young teen how much the theatre helped her cope with life as a member of the disabled (or differently able) community. As a result, she has been driven to help bring awareness, acceptance, and education for those with disabilities by way of the theatre arts. Andrea began her teaching career as a teen when she was given the opportunity to co-teach and mentor a young fellow theatre artist with CP at her hometown children’s professional theatre in the South Florida area. She learned of Drama Therapy somewhat haphazardly during rehearsal for a current role and the rest was history! She realized this was her chance to positively promote disability awareness and her desire to help others through their disability journey while nurturing her love for theatre.

Although she has been no stranger to disability related struggles, her love for the arts has never been one of them. In recent years she devoted her life to furthering her theatre education and knowledge. Andrea is a 2012 graduate of Flagler College’s Theatre Arts program and most currently The Interdisciplinary Arts and Education Program M.A. at Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. During her time there she specialized in Drama Therapy under the direction of the esteemed mentor Norman Fedder. Since then she has had the pleasure of attending several North American Drama Therapy Association (NADTA) Conferences throughout the United States. Andrea recently presented her thesis project at the 2015 NADTA Conference in White Plains, NY, where she authored, directed, and acted in a self-revelatory production entitled the “Ability to Love”. The production told the story of her journey as a young adult navigating the world of online dating as a disabled woman in today’s predominantly ableist society. It was warmly received and asserted her belief in the power of theatre to challenge social justice issues surrounding disability for the young adults within that community. Andrea is currently an instructor at The Exceptional Theatre Company located in Ft. Lauderdale whose mission is to provide quality education in theatre for those with disabilities.