Claire Derriennic (she/her/hers) is pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Theatre with a specialization in drama and theatre for youth and communities at The University of Texas at Austin. A playwright, educator and all-around theatre maker, Derriennic has co-created several plays for young audiences, including Fishing for Stars, a devised nonverbal theatre piece for ages 0-5, and The Materials that Make Us, a museum theatre play presented at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. Derriennic is a longtime French instructor and administrator at Concordia Language Villages, an immersion program whose mission is to inspire courageous global citizens through lived language and culture. A former “third culture kid” who grew up in Macedonia, Zambia, Burkina Faso, Tunisia, and Bangladesh, Derriennic is passionate about using the arts to cultivate empathy and intercultural understanding. Derriennic has a B.A. in Social Justice, French and Theatre from Georgetown University and is pursuing her certification as a K-12 drama teacher in addition to her M.F.A.