mccachrena@arsnc.org

 704-924-8870 ext. 107

Bio

I grew up in Salisbury, NC as the third of four children.  I have an older sister, an older brother, and a younger brother.  Following high school I attended Catawba College where I received a BA in Theatre Arts.  I continued my education, completing my MA in Christian Education at The Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, VA.  After working in various churches I returned to Catawba where I fulfilled the requirements for a teaching certification in elementary education, and then began teaching in the Rowan/Salisbury School System where I remained in various teaching positions for 9 ½ years. 

While serving on the board of directors for the Piedmont Players Community Theatre, I initiated summer drama camps for grades 3 – 12. In the summer of 1998 the then Team Leader of ARCS noticed one of the broachers for that camp and then asked me to interview for the position of Arts teacher at a new charter school.  I was one of the seven original faculty members here at ARCS, and I’m beginning my 8^th year teaching at this school.

During the summer months I’ve enjoyed a variety of employment opportunities including:  theater instructor at the High Scope international camp for gifted and talented teens, actor/educator for KEY Players Theatre Company, and puppeteer at the Nature Museum in Charlotte.
 

If you were to visit my home in Salisbury, on the wall you would see prints of various artists, including Monet, Van Gogh, Dali, and Kandinsky.  The music playing on the CD player is probably jazz.  There are many indications throughout the house that I have a great love of Shakespeare.  I like to call the front bedroom my library because bookshelves line the walls and are overflowing with books, mainly sci-fi, fantasy and children’s books.  My hat collection hangs on the wall in the library.  I have two precious, but spoiled rotten, cats named Pablo and Thomas.  One of my favorite things to do at my house is to sit on the back porch with my cats, reading a good book, and drinking a Starbucks Frappuccino®.