LEMAR O. ARCHER

Lemar Archer is a Jamaican-born theatre and drama educator, director, choreographer, actor, and dancer currently based in Boston, Massachusetts. A passionate and dynamic teaching artist with over nine years of experience in theatre education and performance, he is committed to using the arts as a transformative tool for learning and personal development.

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In Jamaica, Lemar served for five years as a Theatre Arts/Drama and Dance educator, teacher mentor, and Head of the Visual and Performing Arts Department at Edith Dalton James High School in Kingston. He is a principal member of the QUILT Performing Arts Company and  a former trainee with the National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica  (NDTC).

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Currently, he is the drama educator and theatre director at Thurgood Marshal Middle School in Lynn, MA, where he has been fostering creativity and self-expression in students since 2022. He also serves as a theatre facilitator with LEAP for Education’s Dream MORE (“Marshall Opportunities for Resilience and Education”) program, a teaching artist with Somerville Arts for Youth (SAY inc.), and the choreographer for Salem High School Theatre Department. His work is deeply rooted in multicultural education, social and emotional learning (SEL), student-centered approaches, and play-based learning, all of which he integrates into his teaching to support students’ holistic development.

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Lemar has received numerous accolades in teaching and directing, including:

• Best Overall Tutor in the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) Festival Competitions

• Most Outstanding Educator in Western Kingston in the JCDC Performing Arts

• Outstanding Achievement Award for maintaining a 100% pass rate in the CSEC Theatre Arts Examination for five consecutive years

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A recognized cultural ambassador, Lemar represented Jamaica at the 2019 Caribbean Arts Festival (CARIFESTA) in Trinidad and Tobago. That same year, he conceptualized, devised, and directed "A Child's Cry (Call to Rescue Our Youths”)—a commercial theatre production staged with at-risk high school students, addressing social issues such as child neglect and abuse. The production won the 2020 Actor Boy Award for Best Children’s Theatre Production. Additionally, as part of his mission to use the arts for youth empowerment, he designed and directed the Mr. and Miss Edith Dalton James High School Pageant and Talent Competition (2017–2019), which significantly improved academic and behavioral outcomes for participating students.

 

Lemar holds:

• Master of Arts (M.A.) and Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in Theatre Education and Applied Theatre from Emerson College (Boston, MA), where he earned multiple scholarships and fellowships

• Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Drama in Education from Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts (Kingston, Jamaica), where he received the prestigious Dennis Scott Award for Most Outstanding Student in Drama in Education

• Certificate in Principles and Practices of Project Management from Mona School of Business and Management, University of the West Indies (Jamaica)

 

Beyond his work in theatre and education, Lemar enjoys leisurely days at the beach or river and playing card and board games with friends.

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