Beverly Roche is a pantomime artist actor, and writer based in Indianapolis. She is the creative force behind Mime's the Word and Literature Takes the Stage. Beverly has been a professional actor for 25 years, and a mime for 10 years. She has also been with Arts for Learning for 10 years. She has a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from IUPUI, and has completed a two-year program in Neighborhood Playhouse Technique and has trained in playwriting with James Still. When practicing mime with students, Beverly tells stories with her body, using no words or props. "In a workshop students learn the basics of acting and the most famous mime illusions: trapped in a box, pulling a rope, climbing a ladder, juggling," she says. When teaching literature, she uses a story students are already familiar with, leading them through the process of playwriting. She encourages improvisation and even acting on the part of the students help shape the dialogue of the play. "Through acting, students can identify on a deeper emotional and intellectual level with the characters and themes of the literature we are adapting," she says. "Physical and vocal dialogue work engages learners across the accessibility spectrum, improving understanding of the story." Beverly is also fluent in conversational French, and she can adapt a mime workshop to teach French vocabulary.