Senior Lecturer in Spanish
For this native of Madrid, Spain, Theatre and Education are the two passions of her life. With a strong academic background in the study of languages and literatures, and thorough training as a theatre practitioner, she has sought to create the space in which her two passions could converge. She found that the classroom offers a natural stage to integrate both: in her pedagogical vision, the classroom–or learning environment—becomes a performative space where each student is invited to take on the leading role in their own learning process.
She has been dedicated to the teaching of language, literature, and theatre for 25 years. As an actress, she has pursued additional training with disciples of Michael Chekhov at the MICHA International School, with the Peruvian Group Yuyachkani at Harvard University, and with Ángel Gutiérrez at the Teatro de Cámara Chéjov, Madrid. As a director, she has worked with companies in Madrid and Boston, and her playwriting has been premiered at Teatro Español, Círculo de Bellas artes de Madrid (Spain), Adams Pool Theatre, Adolphus Busch Hall Museum and Agassiz Theatre at Harvard University.
She has taught theatre, languages and literatures at Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Harvard University and now Boston University, where she is currently a Senior Lecturer. She holds two BA degrees from Universidad Complutense de Madrid (in English Philology magna cum laude, and in Comparative Literature), and an MA in Theatre and Cultural Studies. In her PhD studies in History and Theory of Drama at Complutense University, she specialized in the Spanish reception, translation, and staging of Anton Chekhov’s theatre. She spent a summer in Moscow learning Russian at Lomonosov University, visited all the Chekhovian places and paid homage to the artists of the Moscow Art Theatre. Her journey took her across the Atlantic Ocean to Harvard University, where she did research and taught Spanish while writing and directing plays with Harvard College Teatro!, the first company to perform in Spanish at Harvard. Instead of a dissertation, she wrote a theatre play, Chéjov en el jardín, a project in collaboration with the stage director Luis d’Ors. Chéjov en el jardín became a finalist in the prestigious Spanish playwriting prize “Born” and was premiered at the prominent Teatro Español de Madrid in 2008.
In 2024 she launched her own theatre company “La Barraca Hispanoamericana” at BU, a homage to the university troupe led by Federico García Lorca and Eduardo Ugarte, with the purpose of spreading the love for Spanish language and theatre. In Spring 2025, La Barraca made its official debut with the premiere of Alan Smith Soto’s play “César y Federico” in the Boston Playwrights theatre. In 2025, a sister branch of La Barraca was born to focus specifically on women in the Hispanic theatre called “Cómicas de la Le(n)gua”. This project made its debut at Yale University during the conference “Hispanic Actors in Exile” with a performance-lecture that brought to life two unforgettable artists: Encarnación López Júlvez, “La Argentinita”, y Margarita Xirgu.
Verónica Rodríguez Ballesteros also collaborates with BU Opera Institute as a Coach for Spanish and literary advisor. In Spring 2025, the opera “Florencia en el Amazonas” by Daniel Catán was premiered in the Joan and Edgar Booth Theatre, the first opera fully in Spanish at BU. She is looking forward to the next one!
Apart from theatre and education, this madrileña loves learning languages (she studied more than 10 in her dream to become a hyperpolyglot!), and learning about absolutely everything, from neuroscience to puppetry! She is right now interested in the uses of VR technology for language learning, and facilitates XR workshops and informal VR sessions to immerse language teachers in VR/AR/MR. She also provides consultations with language instructors interested in approaching the VR world and leads a VR Club for anyone interested in exploring XR technologies.
She is also a proud Posse Mentor for the 17th Atlanta Cohort, a member of the Tri-Alpha National Honor Society which recognizes the academic achievements of First-Generation students, and a Terrier F1RSTS Advocate with the Newbury Center supporting First-Gen students.
She enjoys teaching all language levels and has designed signature courses that invite students to learn the language and culture through theatre (Spanish through Performance), humor (What makes Spaniards laugh?), and horror in the Hispanic world (What are we afraid of?). Her passion for the puppetry arts led her to study, train and learn from renowned international puppeteers, and crystallized in her designing a new arts-based course, Exploring World Cultures through Puppetry Arts, a Cross-Course Challenge class in collaboration with Prof. Amato from the CFA.
Verónica’s pedagogical approach can be described as play-based, hands-on, learner-centered, and community-oriented. An educational approach that cultivates intrinsic motivation, a growth mindset, and the joy of learning. She invites students to take center stage, empowering them to hold the reins of their learning journey. She encourages them to take risks, embracing the challenge, and daring greatly!