Professionalism

Professionalism - Key Roles

Since beginning at PS 75, I have taken on a number of key, performance related roles, and grown the resources in the Theater Classroom substantially.  When I arrived, there was very little there, and now there is a thriving Theatre community!  

Some important and notable achievements are:

• Received Theater funding from the DOE Arts Office for the 2018-2025 school years, to purchase supplies, allowing me to build a quality Theater program.

• With funding, I have purchased:

  • Theater books, plays, stories and theater games

  • Multiple 'Readers Theater' Unit Boxes (with 24 different scripts each)

  • Puppets + a wooden Puppet Theater stand

  • Lamps for shadow puppet project

  • Props and Costume pieces

  • Storage furniture, bookshelves and cabinets

  • Video camera + tripod

  • Theater posters

• Each year, I have created student ‘spoken word’ poetry performances for both Hispanic Heritage Month and Black History Month with groups of 2nd and 5th graders.

• 5th grade performers have been taken to outside venues to perform their BHM routine at the Langston Hughes Choral Speaking Festival @ CCNY on the UWS, as well as at our District 3 Art Fair.

• I have Co-Directed and MC’d the annual Talent Shows, in March.

• During my first 2 years, I brought in the ‘Tanglewood Marionettes’, touring performance group, to perform puppet shows for the whole school (grades K-2, and 3-5), and facilitated a hands-on Marionette Workshop afterwards, on our school stage, for selected students. This was paid for using grant/stipend money I received from my Lincoln Center Scholars Masters Degree program. 

• Once remote learning began in March 2020, I came up with the idea of a ‘Virtual Talent Show’, and spearheaded the creation of our school YouTube Channel, where we now host all shows and assemblies that would normally be done in our auditorium.

• In addition to asynchronously teaching all students K-5 in Google Classroom during the pandemic, I started an after-school ‘Play Reading Groups’ for interested 4th and 5th graders, to connect and have live, interactive Theater time with me.

• I suggested that Specials Teachers have our own 'Virtual Town Hall', to share the Specials Schedule, and for families to ask questions and connect with us.  This was a first-time, new initiative, that proved successful, and will be something we can do again,  in the future.

• I began the inaugural Drama Club at our school in  2022.  We performed 'Mystery of the Stolen Treasure!', a pirate play, in year 1,  'Fairytales in Court!', with fractured fairytales in a whole new light for year 2, and in 2025 we performed a Play I co-wrote called 'Poisoned in the Garden'. 

• Drama Club  grew by ~50% in year 2, and we've added a 2nd group to accomodate the need!

• Students were selected to perform at the Manhattan Borough Arts Festival in 2024 (Apollo Theater) and in 2025 (The Shed).

Professionalism - PD Participation

• DOE Citywide Theater PDs (2017-2025)

• Lincoln Center Summer Forum workshop (July 2025)

• Arts Mondays  (2018-2019)

• CUNY Creative Arts Team PDs [multiple] (2017-2020)

• Lincoln Center Summer Teaching Artist Lab - (2017-2018)

• Lincoln Center Theater - ELL’s course (2017)

• Implicit Bias PD Training  (2019)

• Theater In Our Schools Conference (2017-2018)

• Therapeutic Crisis Intervention 4 week training (2020)

• Understanding Trauma and Trauma Responsive Educational Practices (2020)

• Achieved my Professional Certificate in Teaching (2020)

• Arts & Students with Disabilities (SWD) - PLC for Theater Teachers [4 sessions] (2021)

Professionalism - Student & Parent Notes

Please scroll through the multi-page Google Slide, below, with notes from Parents and Students, reflecting their appreciation of Theater :)