Joy Chaitin is an award-winning playwright of 18 plays and musicals, 12 of which are for children. Her plays have been produced throughout North America and as far away as Australia, England and France. She is the founding director of the Bloomington Playwrights Project's School of Dramatic Arts, founding director of CenterStage Dramatics Academy and former artist-in-residence for the Monroe County Community School Corporation, located in her hometown of Bloomington, Indiana. She also has years of experience directing and choreographing plays and musicals for primary and secondary school children and understands the importance of letting each student shine. Inspired by their common backgrounds, Chaitin and music specialist Sarah Stevens created four "egalitarian" musicals, which include equal parts for all students and eliminate dependence on traditional auditions. Their easy-to-employ method, dubbed "consensus casting," has received rave reviews from directors and music educators alike. Dramatic Publishing showcases this system in the musicals On Time, In Space, Henny Penny and The Fourth Wise Man.
