Drama Therapist
Keith graduated from DePaul University’s Theater School with a BFA in Acting. He earned an MA in Therapeutic and Educational Drama from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He trained at the Psychodrama Training Institute of Chicago and interned at Columbia Lakeshore Hospital. Keith performed and conducted drama workshops in correctional institutions throughout North America, England, Scotland and Ireland with Geese Theater Company, and has used theater techniques to work with teens, adults, and families in Chicago’s immigrant population. Some of this work has been specifically with survivors of torture. He started the Chicago division of the international ComedySportz High School League, an improv program developing teen social skills and cognitive skills in areas such as attention, memory, reasoning and processing. Since 2002 Keith has worked extensively with teens and adults facing an array of challenges including Autism Spectrum Disorder. Also beginning from 2002 he has developed and implemented drama therapy programs targeted to the needs of the aging clients in day programs and elder residences. Keith Whipple co-authored and published a paper with speech therapists at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago entitled, “Waiting on the Words”: Procedures and Outcomes of a Drama Class for Individuals with Aphasia. He is a veteran stage actor who has been performing and teaching improvisation at Chicago’s ComedySportz Theatre for over twenty years.