Leayne is currently the resident dramaturg at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C. She is also a freelance dramaturg who works on new shows in development and productions that explore the African Diaspora. She is currently working as a dramaturg on the new musical Tap In, co-written by Marjuan Canady and Christin Eve Cato, music by Muhsinah, and choreogaphed by Chloe Maud of Syncopated Ladies.
Her work at the National Theater includes creating and curating study guides for hit Broadway shows such as: TINA; the TIna Turner musical, Hadestown, CATS, and Aladdin.
Leayne’s regional theatre credits include theaters such as: Hanger Theater (The Piano Lesson) in New York, Olney Theatre Center (Little Shop of Horrors), Studio Theater (All That I Will Ever Be), John F. Kennedy Center (TYA The Secret Lives of White House Pets), and the African Continuum Theatre Company (Old Settler). Leayne is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association.
Leayne’s extensive education and mental health background as well that includes being the former President, President Advisor, and a Co-founder of the Maryland Theatre Education Association, and sitting on the Fine Arts Advisory Panel for the Maryland State Superintendent of Schools.
She is a professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, in both the Department of Education and the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies, and sits on Board of Visitors for the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies.
Leayne received her M.A. in Mental Health Counseling from Lesley University, and completed her thesis entitled, “Using Drama Therapy with Active Duty Service Members Diagnosed with Traumatic Brain Injury,” working alongside the Creative Forces Healing Arts Program team at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence, on the Walter Reed National Naval Medical Center base.
Leayne is a firm believer that studying theatre at the collegiate level can change a young person’s life, because it did EXACTLY that for her.
