of Arts degree from New York University. She was a Ph.D. candidate at Columbia University, but decided not to finish the psychology degree and instead to pursue a career in acting. Psychology, while not her chosen profession, was a tool she found invaluable in working with people. She began studying theatre at the New School for Social Research in 1946, where she aspired to become an actress. She also studied in the fields of clinical and industrial psychology, and was awarded a scholarship to do postgraduate work at the New School for Social Research in 1948. Her philosophy of directing and her technique for creating her folk plays reflect similar theories, ideas, and aesthetic principles to those of Bertolt Brecht. She also promoted the principles of Erwin Piscator's "objective style of performance". After working with Piscator, she studied at Strasberg's studio between 1948 and 1950. The juxtaposition of these opposing styles led to Carroll's own technique in creating her new style of folk drama. Acting career Carroll's first stage appearance was at the New School for Social Research in 1948. She performed in many of the school’s productions, including roles as Clytemnestra in Agamemnon, the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, and the Duchess in Alice in Wonderland. Carroll made her professional stage debut as a Christian in a summer stock production of George Bernard Shaw's Androcles and the Lion at the Southold Playhouse on Long Island. She played Addie in Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes and then, in 1949, Bella in Arnaud d'Ussaeu and James Gow's Deep Are the Roots. In 1955, Carroll joined the faculty of the Performing Arts High School in New York City. She taught theater arts and directed productions as a faculty member at the high school for 11 years. Later, due to a shortage of faculty positions, Carroll created a one-woman show and toured the United States and the West Indies until 1957. She made her London stage debut at the Royal Court Theatre on December 4, 1958, as Sophia Adams in Moon on a Rainbow Shawl. She then won an Obie Award for her role in Errol John’s Moon on a Rainbow Shawl. In February 1963, she returned to London as the Narrator in Black Nativity at the Piccadilly Theatre. Carroll also worked in film and television. She appeared in the films Up the Down Staircase (1967), Alice's Restaurant (1969), and others. She later