Hestia D. September ~ musical theater director, composer and author ~ has lived in the townships of South Africa, the bush in Malawi, south of the Thames in London, and now in Seattle, WA
- BA in Music Education from Humboldt State University; MA in Theater Direction (emphasis musical theater) from Western Washington University; certified K-12 choral and classroom music teacher in CA, OR, WA
- Staged flash-mobs with youth groups at Lobby Day at the state capital in Olympia, WA, and for OneAmerica immigrant rallies
- Nominated at Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theater for Outstanding Music Direction, Outstanding Student Orchestra, Honorable Mention, Edmonds Heights K-12, Jane Eyre
Vision Statement
To use the performing arts to amplify the stories of those whose voices aren’t being heard.
Biography
Currently homeschooling Solomon, her son, at Edmonds Heights K-12, Hestia enjoys the freedom and autonomy to experiment with a plethora of educational approaches, tailoring Solomon’s education to his interests and talents, in a vibrant community of parent and professional educators.
Hestia September has a rich palette of educational, cultural, and performing arts experience in addition to her BA in Music Education and MA in Theater Direction. She has worked in countless schools and theaters, locally and abroad, ranging from choreographing youth in Dzaleka Refugee camp in Malawi, the country where her son, Solomon, was born, to teaching musical theater to gypsy kids in southeast London.
Hestia’s creative projects have expanded to musical theater composing and her first children’s musical, Truth About Trolls, which has been produced in several Seattle area schools. She wrote an accompanying curriculum guide that facilitates classroom teachers in unpacking themes of equity, bullying, and reaching across boundary lines to befriend people different from you. In August 2019, Hestia co-presented about the development process of The Truth About Trolls at the American Alliance For Theater and Education national conference in New York City. Her next composing project is a children’s musical on the life of Beatrix Potter, for which she will also write a curriculum, focusing on Ms. Potter’s groundbreaking life and work.
Hestia’s goal is to make her musicals and curriculum accessible to a wide range of educational settings, public, private, home-school, online and refugee camp schools.
Seattle Globalist article
OneAmerica article
Hi Mary! Glad to find you here.
me too!!!
Hey Ms. Mary, this is Mary (from Syre). I thought I would check out what you’re up to and I must tell you that I’m very impressed :), you’ve been busy!!! I imagine your life now is exactly what you’ve been hoping for all these years! Anyway, if you’re still in the area and have time, would love to have coffee and catch up cuz I haven’t seen you since our “memorable” outing at Edmonds Beach 😉
Yes!!!! I would love to see you! We’re in the Edmonds area quite regularly since Solomon goes to Edmonds Heights k12.
Mary, it’s so good to hear from you after 3 years or so. We, to live on the west coast, in SoCal. Would love to hear from you, but I guess you’re super busy right now. If we don’t talk before, bon voyage.
Bruce Smith
Mary, it’s so good to hear from you after 3 years or so. We, too live on the west coast, in SoCal. Would love to hear from you, but I guess you’re super busy right now. If we don’t talk before, bon voyage.
Bruce Smith
Hi Bruce,
Covid limited our connections last summer when we were in SoCal and now that we’re likely to be back there March or April…..we’re still dealing with covid! How have you weathered this pandemic? I trust you and Beth are well.
Sincerely,
Mary September