Creating vibrant spaces for creativity and discovery
In the news: Oregon Children’s Theatre returns from Hiatus with Theatre for the Very Young
Artistic Projects
I am theatre maker, visual artist, storyteller, and general artistic magpie, working under the label Current Interest Creative. Whether I am creating a live performance experience, an interactive installation space, or assembling different found objects in my own artistic practice, my focus is always on the intimate, the immediate, and how we experience feelings through our senses. Click here to learn more.
Nonprofit Consulting and Executive Leadership Support
My experience leading nonprofits of various budget and staff sizes has given me insights into the unique challenges facing nonprofit leaders who are searching for sustainability in an uncertain time.
I work with nonprofit leaders who are committed to equity and liberation, helping them to strategize and implement community-centric fundraising practices and sustainable operations (at any size!) in order to support their crucial work.
Early Childhood Arts Education
Drawing on 20 years of experience bringing creativity and play into early childhood classrooms, I work with teachers and caregivers of young children to help them nourish creative spaces for young minds to explore.
“Tiny Shimmers” Portland Winter Light Festival 2026
“The Lodge”
Pickathon 2025
“Kitchen Colors”
Kitchen Culture 2025
“Aunty Lo’s Spellshop”
Spring/Summer 2026
22
creative productions
23
years of creative teaching, training, and mentoring
200+
school partners
10+
teaching artist affiliations since 2005
“Play comes naturally to us as children, but as we grow we learn to fit ourselves inside of containers that limit our creativity and imagination. Reconnecting with our ingrained sense of playfulness can help us to look at the world with the eyes of a young child, where anything is possible and magic is around every corner.”
Lauren Jost
About Lauren
Overview
Lauren Jost is an artist, educator, and consultant, specializing in interactive multimedia art and performance, and nonprofit strategies for sustainability. She is the former Founding Artistic Director of Spellbound Theatre (2011-2021), served as Executive Director of Arts for Learning Northwest 2021-25, and as President of the Board of Directors of the Association of Teaching Artists from 2016-2021, overseeing the 2020 merger of ATA with Teaching Artists Guild, a national advocacy network for arts educators.
Arts Education
Lauren has been working in arts education for over twenty years, as a resident artist, teaching artist, trainer, director, mentor, and leader. She has taught for New Victory Theater, Oregon Children’s Theatre, Arts for Learning NW, Young Audiences of NJ/PA, Lifetime Arts, Seattle Children’s Theatre, The Brooklyn Public Library, The Arthur Miller Foundation, New York University, American Theatre Wing and many more.
Early Childhood
Lauren specializes in integrating the arts with early childhood education. As the Founding Artistic Director of Spellbound Theatre, Lauren created and produced magical experiences for children ages 0-6, and their caregivers and families, as well as in-school residencies and workshops customized for early childhood classrooms. She has trained hundreds of early childhood educators in how to bring creativity into their classrooms, through Spellbound Theatre, New Victory Theatre, and NYC’s PreK for All “CREATE” program.
Artistic Productions
Lauren’s artistic practice spans visual and performing arts. She is a theatre producer, director, and devisor, as well as a storyteller and visual artist. She tells stories through sensory experiences, opening doorways to understanding and discovery. You can see highlights from her theatrical work below, which has been produced/presented at New Victory Theatre, Miami Theatre Center, Chicago Children’s Theatre, Oregon Children’s Theatre, Symphony Space, and dozens of schools and community venues across the East Coast. You can follow her current work at Current Interest Creative.
Strategies in Nonprofit Sustainability
Lauren has spent 15 years working as a leader of nonprofit organizations of various sizes, and integrates a commitment to creativity, community, and equity into sustainable nonprofit practices. She now consuls with nonprofit leaders and boards to develop and implement fundraising and operations strategies to support their crucial work in an uncertain world.
Interactive Performance and Installation Highlights:
Shall we collaborate?
Interested in working with Lauren on a creative project, training, or professional development?