About - Treehouse Players

We provide unique creative arts programs for children

Our mission is to provide a fun, play-focused, nurturing atmosphere for children as they engage their voices, bodies, imaginations and feelings through the creative arts. In the process, they grow social and emotional skills as they find their own voices and express themselves freely.

What THP visualizes and brings to life:

Explore! We read, play, improvise, listen, draw, observe, paint, act and write.
Create! Using children’s literature and the arts, Treehouse Players engages and guides children, from improvisation to creation.
Express! Through dialogue, song and movement we share authors’ voices and give children the tools necessary to enter into the world of a story and share their own voices.
Grow! The aim is to build social and emotional skills through play, creating a safe space for children to experiment.

What makes treehouse players special?

Developmentally Appropriate Play through the arts is the core of our teaching methodology. It supports a child’s natural inclination to imagine and explore. It plants the seeds for the joy learning brings.
A unique, adaptable teaching style for differentiated learning is utilized by Amy Forbes and her staff. By combining elements of theatre with art, music and movement there is inherent freedom in the process to meet children where they are developmentally.

Meet the Founder

Amy Forbes is a teaching artist, educator and professional actress and singer. She merged these professions in 2007 when she founded Treehouse Players, a children’s theatre adventure. In THP, Amy combines nurturing children’s creative spirits with her passion for theatre, music, story and dance.

Through THP’s interactive story theatre, Amy utilizes children’s literature and creative arts to engage children of all ages and abilities, guiding them through a theatrical journey, from improvisation to creation to expression. Amy engages children through THP adventures, schools, libraries and community events. She brings positive energy, a wealth of life experience and a passion for children to find, develop and use their voices with strength.

In academic settings, Amy prides herself on her flexible and collaborative spirit. She encourages teachers to work with her to create arts-integrated workshops and residencies where she develops and adapts lessons for differentiated learning. Amy assesses individual learning methods, often in the moment, and implements curriculum based on the group’s needs.

Amy holds a B.S. in Music Education with a Minor in Theatre. She is also a certified teacher with Music Together, a worldwide early childhood music and movement program. Amy is a storyteller with the Connecticut Storytelling Center, a member of the Early Childhood Council at Tri-Town Youth Services and a member of the Connecticut Library Consortium.

As an actress, Amy is a member of the Actor’s Equity Association and has performed in New York City, on tour, in regional theatre and at the Ivoryton Playhouse. Most days you’ll find Amy playing, singing and telling stories with children in schools throughout CT. Amy continues to perform and loves taking on a strong acting role when it fits into her family’s schedule. Currently, she’s exploring and developing a one-woman cabaret.

Meet the Art Director

As an artist, Elvira earned a BFA in painting from the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts in Old Lyme, CT. Born in New Britain, CT to a Basque immigrant father and a Puerto Rican mother, Elvira’s work focuses on themes of place, home and memory. Recently, the focus of her painting has been a meditation on grief and love. Each work is a love letter, a way to process the loss and longing for the ones we love. Deeply rooted in this landscape, she tells the story of the places and people she calls home and the memories that inspire her to create.

As a teacher/caregiver, Elvira has worked and played with children for over a decade, first as a nanny and eventually offering private art lessons. She now teaches at Schoolmates Preschool, guiding children to bring their own art to life. Elvira lives in Lyme in a dreamy little cottage with her husband. When not teaching, you can find her painting away in her studio.