Victoria Rhoades, PhD
Victoria Rhoades, PhD, brings over two decades of experience at the intersection of theatre, education, embodiment, and trauma-informed practice. Deeply influenced by her mentors—Dr. Carol Gilligan, Dr. Niobe Way, and drama therapist Dr. Robert Landy—her work investigates how messages of culture and gender are embedded in the body, voice, and relational dynamics we inhabit throughout life. A longtime senior faculty member and director at Shakespeare & Company, Rhoades integrates classical theatre, somatic regulation strategies, and movement-based pedagogy to support emotional expression, agency, and human connection. Her unique approach engages Shakespeare’s verse as a rhythmic, expressive container for navigating complex emotions and shared narratives of resilience. Rhoades is the founder and Executive Director of The SAGE Center; a developing initiative committed to embodied learning and healing through creative process. She also teaches in the Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions at NYU Steinhardt. Her training includes Intimacy Direction, Trauma-Informed Yoga, and Somatic Embodiment & Regulation Strategies. She is currently completing the Certificate in Traumatic Stress Studies with the Trauma Research Foundation. Her published work, “The Courage to Care,” appears in The Crisis of Connection (Way, Ali, Gilligan, & Noguera, 2018). A passionate educator and mother of two daughters, Rhoades creates spaces that awaken imagination, foster regulation, and center connection as essential to learning and healing.
