Welcome! My name is Carly Kalivas (Richards) and I am a theatre educator and advocate of the arts. Surprisingly, I was an incredibly timid and shy child, hardly able to raise my hand in class... that is, until I started doing theatre when I was in the 7th grade. I started by performing in ensembles and then worked my way up and around to different positions across the performing arts spectrum over many years. I began directing and teaching in high school and pursued those focuses further at Ithaca College for my Bachelors in Drama and then again at Emerson College for my Master of Arts in Theatre Education. I have also co-founded and am the artistic director of a non-profit educational theatre company, Wide Eyes Theatre Company, inc.

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I firmly believe that performing arts are an essential part of a well-rounded curriculum and have the power to inspire students to find their place in school. As a strong advocate for a process over product approach to performing arts, I believe that the experiences the students have during drama classes as well as the rehearsal process are essential lessons about collaboration, creativity, and self-expression. While I always strive to produce work the students are proud of, my main goal is to aid in their personal development. This process is the key to developing more focused, happy, and kind students during the school day who operate with a growth mindset in all of their subject areas.

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"In all the rehearsals I’ve observed, Carly always has a lot of activities going on simultaneously but there is never a feeling of chaos. Everyone, from the cast to the crew to the student directors, is focused on the task at hand. The students in her productions feel very close to her, but have the utmost respect for her as 'the boss.'"

--Walter O'Keefe, Music Dept. Chair

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"...an amazing student musical theater director, who quite possibly is the best director I have ever worked with...Carly knows her craft and executes it with precision.  Her students respect her and she does likewise, and always with propriety. Carly can relate to young minds exceptionally well without babying them."

-- Brian Ocock, Choral Director

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"Carly has also demonstrated a talent for working with students who need more support both in and out of the regular education classroom, and she has done so with great initiative and a very positive attitude. She has a consistently proven her ability to break down concepts to make the curriculum accessible to every student...Carly is a confident woman whose manner is honest and warm. She is punctual, reliable, smart, and funny."

--Erika Donovan, Special Education Program Coordinator

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"For most people, the idea of not only taming but also directing and encouraging a large group of 7th and 8th graders is terrifying, but Ms. Richards saw it as an opportunity to change the children's understanding of authority. She almost never raised her voice to the students, only used positive reinforcement, and allowed the children to not just become a certain character on stage, but to bring out the parts of themselves they liked best...Watching how Ms. Richards handled the students was very inspiring to me. It shows that all they need is someone to show that they care..."

--Nina Cambece, Masconomet Class of 2016