TEACHING ARTIST

I have been working with students since I was in high school. I have worked in summer camps, school districts, and with LORT theaters. Working with students is one of my favorite things in the world.

When I first started teaching in high school, I would help out with the elementary and high school musicals as a stage manager and assistant choreographer. That is when my love of teaching kids began. The look on their faces when they nailed a jazz square, or how excited they got back stage before their big entrance just warmed my heart.

After that, I started working at Marin Theatre Company every summer during college. First as an intern, and eventually as a director and choreographer. Being a part of the summer camp that I was a camper at for 9 years has been an incredibly rewarding experience. Getting to know the kids, seeing them grow up year to year, and coming into their own through theatre has continued to instill my love of teaching.

While at NYU, I had the opportunity to work in the New York Public School system at the High School of Economics and Finance as a teaching artists in both a drama and English Class. Teaching within the school system was extremely eye opening, and gave me one of my most important teaching philosophies to this day. Which is to bring the material to the students. Find something they are interested in, and find a way to relate it to the work.

A couple years ago, I then had the opportunity to be a teaching artists at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Here I taught pre and post show workshops to 3rd through 12th graders for their student matinees of A Christmas Carol. Talking to the students about the history of the show and what it means to be an actor, and then allowing them to put that knowledge to work on their feet truly enhanced their viewing of the show itself.

Currently I am spending my second year as a teaching artist at Manhattan Youth’s after school theater program at Andersen Middle School on the Upper West Side. Last year I directed Into the Woods Jr. which performed two sold out performances last March. A few months ago we started working on this years show, which will be Seussical Jr.!

Overall, teaching students in music, theatre, and dance is something I hope to do for the rest of my life. I look forward to any and all future opportunities to introduce students to the arts.