I have always said I need to do three things in life to be happy: act, teach, and write. While writing has not been my primary focus, I have always been a collector of words. I was the editor of my high school newspaper; and as a young adult, I wrote for the Redwood City Weekly News and was published in the San Jose Mercury News. More recently I was a reviewer for nytheatre.com and theateriseasy.com. I then decided to shift gears and focus on the creative side of writing. I began to write weekly for the blog One Hundred Words but discovered I had more to say. Thus, I have begun delving into the craft of writing memoir – digging up the past, littered with laments and rapture abundant – as well as combining my loves of theater and writing and penning my first play.

Over the years I have taught everything from playwrighting to stand-up writing. One of my favorite classes is Discovering Self; the purpose of this seminar is to bolster self-esteem through writing exercises, improv, and acting games. The class culminates in a performance of self-written monologues as well as scenes and monologues of established playwrights that specifically challenge each student.

Please email me at natasha.yannacanedo@gmail.com or call 646-391-6136 or call if you are interested in a writing workshop or class.