{"id":148,"date":"2022-03-30T16:04:53","date_gmt":"2022-03-30T20:04:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/?post_type=profile&p=148"},"modified":"2026-06-23T11:41:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T15:41:00","slug":"yo-el-cassell","status":"publish","type":"profile","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/cfa\/about\/contact-directions\/directory\/yo-el-cassell\/","title":{"rendered":"Yo-EL Cassell"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yo-El Cassell<\/b> is a dynamic, inspiring, and prolific hearing-impaired theatre artist with an accomplished and extensive movement performance, choreographic, direction, and teaching experience for Theatre (Drama, Physical and Musical Theatre), dance, opera, and film. His achievements lie in his collaborative and spirited ability to break through the boundaries of access via physical expression. Mr. Cassell’s life-long aspiration and research focuses specifically on three keywords: accessibility, diversity, and joyfulness\u2014engineering the importance of allowing the practical, performative, and creative channels of movement to be accessible for all; regardless of experience, discipline, ability, gender, and socioeconomics means. Mr. Cassell\u2019s unconventional teaching and creative approach encourages and champions the importance of how each individual\u2019s physical instrument\u2014their body\u2013is the solution to expressing their inner landscape, balancing the essentiality of owning in equal measure: the expressive and informative self within the movement of creativity, performance, and life. Mr. Cassell developed The J.O.Y. method in movement which practices the importance of embracing and embodying JOY\u2013 not merely one\u2019s own happiness but one\u2019s \u201cJ\u201dourney \u201cO\u201df \u201cY\u201douth\u2013 mindset in practice, allowing one to embrace the mindset of a child when activating within time and space\u2013 particularly, the curious, explorative, creative and imaginative mindset. Due to his hearing impairment, Mr. Cassell connected with the channel of physical expression at a young age to respond to senses he could access and fill in the blanks physically for what he was missing via the act of hearing. Mr. Cassell continuously believes that he began to \u201chear\u201d when he moved, thus beginning a lifelong commitment and passion to embodying, creating and accessing movement in any shape or form. <\/span><\/p>\n

Mr. Cassell was resident choreographer for Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, choreographing, coaching, and directing movement for nine years. Additionally, he has provided choreography\/movement direction for <\/span>The Lily\u2019s Revenge<\/span><\/i> at The American Repertory Theatre featuring acclaimed artist Taylor Mac and <\/span>The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (IRNE Award Nomination-Best Choreography)<\/span><\/i> as well as <\/span>The Inheritance, Parts I and II (Elliot Norton Award-Outstanding Production and Outstanding Ensemble)<\/span><\/i>, for SpeakEasy Stage Company of Boston. His choreography and movement direction were also featured in productions for Celebrity Series of Boston, The Lyric Stage Company of Boston, New Repertory Theatre, The Nantucket Dreamland Theatre, Boston Landmarks Orchestra, Boston Opera Collaborative, Virginia Opera, San Antonio Repertory Ballet, Skidmore College, New England Conservatory, Actors\u2019 Shakespeare Project, Emerson Stage and Boston Playwright\u2019s Theatre. He has also produced, choreographed, and directed the acclaimed Off-Broadway original production of <\/span>Moonlight Interior<\/span><\/i> at New York\u2019s Sande Shurin Theatre, featuring nationally acclaimed singer-songwriter Jann Klose. Additional experience includes direction and movement direction for Boston University\u2019s Wheelock Family Theatre\u2019s production of <\/span>Gooney Bird and Her True-Life Adventures<\/span><\/i> as well as choreography and movement direction for the independent films, <\/span> Cultivating Stillness and Shadow of the Sun <\/span><\/i> among others. Mr. Cassell was Assistant Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer for The Shadow Box Theater in NYC and is a member of The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), The Movement Directors Association (MDA), The Choreographers Guild, The Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE), Vivo Performing Arts, Neighborhood Arts Series Committee, Reagle Music Theatre executive board, as well as The Association of Theatre Movement Educators (ATME) for which he currently serves as President-Elect of the executive board. He has been a key-note speaker and organizer for the ATME Pre-Conference embracing the theme of \u201cTHISability\u2014creating accessibility for diverse bodies in space and time\u201d. He has also curated and developed \u201cMovement as Medicine\u201d, a physical theatre colloquium for movement educators in Tempe, Arizona. Mr. Cassell has also written a column focusing on what it means to learn through movement practice for of The Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC) journal. <\/span><\/p>\n

As a performer, Mr. Cassell\u2019s experiences include an appearance on <\/span>Shining Time Station<\/span><\/i> with Ringo Starr (PBS, Debut Episode\/Featured Performer), <\/span>Anatomy of a Ballet<\/span><\/i> (PBS), <\/span>A Christmas Carol<\/span><\/i> at McCarter Theatre (Scott Ellis, Director\/Rob Marshall, Choreographer), <\/span>La Fille mal Gard\u00e9e, Orfeo ed Euridice<\/span><\/i>(Virginia Opera\/Darko Tresnjak, director), <\/span>Ahab\u2019s Wife,<\/span><\/i> and Anthony William\u2019s <\/span>The Urban Nutcracker<\/span><\/i>. In NYC, he was also a company member of The American Mime Theatre, The Pearl Lang Dance Theater, Spencer\/Colton Dance, Heidi Latsky Dance, H.T. Chen and Dancers, Dance Compass and Palissimo Dance Theatre in which he was featured in their acclaimed production of Blind Spot at PS122 in NYC. His training includes Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, Paul Taylor School, American Repertory Ballet, Connecticut Ballet, Alvin Ailey School, The University of the Arts, and The High School of Performing Arts in NJ. My Cassell has also appeared in the podcast, <\/span>Making Sound with Jann Klose <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>The Upside of Down<\/span><\/i> with Dan Ariely. He is a current company member of the American Physical Theater (APT), based in NYC. Recently, their production of <\/span>The Lifeboat, <\/span><\/i>premiered at Harlem Stage in NYC. Mr. Cassell developed and created an evening length solo work, entitled<\/span> humanINmotion, <\/span><\/i>in collaboration with Mark Stanley, Resident Lighting Designer of New York City Ballet, which was presented at the Arrow Street Arts Theatre in Cambridge, MA.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr. Cassell\u2019s teaching experience includes the NY Acting School for Film and Television, The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in Great Britain, Harvard University Dance Department, New England Conservatory, Walnut Hill School for the Arts, Accademia Dell\u2019s Arte in Arezzo, Italy, Sunshine Cottage School For Deaf Children in Texas, Commonwealth Shakespeare Apprentice Academy, Boston Ballet, Dance Complex, and Skidmore College, where he served as a guest teaching artist\/choreographer in residence for three years. For the BU College of Fine Arts School of Theatre, Mr. Cassell founded and developed \u201cInMotion Theatre\u201d, a performance initiative that highlights storytelling\u2013either via an original work or an adaptation\u2013primarily through the lens of many diverse approaches of movement, including how we see physical energy in design and music. Mr. Cassell believes that creativity first begins with being curious.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>If we embrace the spine and mind of a child, we open the door of freedom to make visible our imagination.\u201d- <\/span><\/i>Keynote Speech, 2020<\/span><\/p>\n

For more on Mr. Cassell, visit <\/span>yo-el.squarespace.com<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYo-EL Cassell doesn\u2019t see things the way most of us do.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u2014 Joel Brown, <\/span>BU Today<\/span><\/i> staff writer<\/span><\/p>\n

A Glimpse of Mr. Cassell\u2019s teaching at BU:<\/span>
\n<\/span>Movement I: The Expressive Human Instrument First Year Performance Core<\/b>
\n<\/b>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mipgAmk5ypo<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

PUBLICATIONS<\/b><\/h5>\n