Patricia Lindberg
Plymouth State University Professor Patricia A. Lindberg, known throughout New England as a talented director and creator of community and children’s theatre productions, was recognized by her education colleagues with an award at the 14th annual New Hampshire Phi Delta Kappa Excellence in Education awards (“ED”ies) ceremony June 9 at the Center of New Hampshire Radisson Hotel in Manchester. The award was presented to Lindberg in recognition of her “significant and continuous contribution to improving the lives of children and young adults.”
“Working with young people in theatre is an exciting and rewarding process,” Lindberg said. “Children are so close to their emotions, and their energy and passion is so real. I am honored to be around them for they ignite my imagination and inspire me each and every time we are together.”
“I was pleased to see so many Plymouth State alumni, faculty, and staff present to honor their colleagues,” said PSU Provost Julie Bernier. “What a wonderful evening to witness Trish Lindberg and so many of our former students being recognized for their outstanding contributions to education.”
Lindberg is artistic director and co-founder (with PSU music professor Dan Perkins) of the award-winning Educational Theatre Collaborative (ETC), which performs at PSU each January and took its performance of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast to the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord, NH, in March.
She is also artistic director and founder of the Kearsarge Arts Theatre in New London, NH, the largest summer arts organization of its type in New England. Her original productions, often based on children’s writing, have toured England, Ireland, Lithuania, New Zealand, and South Africa.
“Trish Lindberg reminds us that the implicit promise of all art is that it can change the world for the better. And she knows that this promise rings most true when the art comes from the hands and hearts and voices of young people,” said New Hampshire Magazine Editor Rick Broussard.
Lindberg’s most recent creation is Theatre Integrating Guidance, Education and Responsibility (TIGER), a professional musical theatre company she co-founded with PSU graduate faculty Gary Goodnough and Gail Mears. TIGER focuses on social issues and has traveled to nearly 500 schools throughout New England, performing and interacting with more than 130,000 schoolchildren. Shows such as I Was Born to Be Me and A Bully Isn’t Your Friend teach values such as tolerance, inclusion, empathy, and respect.
