Max

Hello! My name is Max Lawrence, and I am a Washington, D.C. area native, living in Los Angeles! My love for working with children began on the East Coast years ago leading as a counselor for summer camp, mentoring youth groups in church, and volunteering at AAU basketball tournaments during in my teenage years. I began to focus those efforts in high school by tutoring children from inner-city Washington, D.C. I continued down this track when I went to Ithaca College in upstate New York. One particular group, the Circle of Recovery, was specifically geared to academic and emotional support for at-risk students from New York City who were bussed to Tompkins County in hopes that a new environment would help them make positive changes in their young-adult lives. Two of my fondest success stories include helping a group of these students form their own local radio show and watching a former gang member apply to college.

Since moving to Los Angeles, I have had the opportunity to reach thousands of students all over L.A. County through my work with Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum. This has proven to be a fantastic experience as much of these lessons involve bringing my love of the classical works of William Shakespeare to students of every age, grade level, background, and demographic. I have helped kindergartners learn the plot and the characters of "The Tempest." I have choreographed sword fights from "Hamlet" and "Romeo and Juliet" to middle school students. I have brought shy bookworms out of their shells doing improv games and coached high school athletes how to sigh for love. They have laughed, learned, and come to enjoy Shakespeare's beloved classics right before my eyes.

What does this all mean? When it comes to working with children, I have been said to have a natural gift. Whether it involves tutoring, playing pretend, keeping a schedule, or lending an ear and a heart, it is almost always a positive experience!