NYS Theatre Institute

Program Testimonials: Educators

Statement: Status of NYSTI's Budget | Program Testimonials: Former NYSTI Interns

Albany County

Susan Tangorre was the principal of Altamont Elementary School when a teacher retired who had established a tradition of 5th graders performing a Shakespeare play. The school and the community wanted the tradition to continue but her first thought was, “Oh my goodness, how are we going to do this?” She called NYSTI’s Education Department which sent teacher/actors whom Ms. Tangorre says, “gave three brand new 5th grade teachers the confidence to tackle Shakespeare.” While she is now retired from her post as Director of Human Resources for Guilderland Central School District, she recalls that, “We wanted students to have authentic learning. From working with NYSTI, each and every child understood the value of pulling a production together. The students worked on sets, publicity, costumes and obviously the drama itself and they understood that each person’s role had a value. The whole play didn’t happen without each part. The match was so perfect. We’re big on NYSTI.” With some new teachers and a new principal the program is still in place.

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Kris Raskopf, a special education teacher at Greenville High School, brings the drama club to shows at NYSTI as well as her special education students combined with relevant English or Social Studies classes. She says, “I think it’s important for them to know good theatre is near by. They don’t have to go to Broadway. If you take students often enough, they can begin to compare different productions. They saw Reunion which was directed by the same man [Tony Award-winning actor Ron Holgate] who directed 1776 the previous year.” She took her English classes to Macbeth and her drama club to Arsenic and Old Lace and Idiot’s Delight. They stayed after Idiot’s Delight for a Q and A with the cast and then went up on stage to experience the very dramatic last scene as the actors experienced it—complete with wind and smoke machine effects, and the sounds and lighting of bombs exploding. “It was very cool for them to see all that.”

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Debbie Lockhart, a 2nd grade teacher at Amsterdam’s Tecler Arts and Education Magnet Elementary School, says that she and her colleagues, “use the trip to NYSTI as a stepping stone for the students to become actors and do their own play.” The “Tecler Stagehand Project” helps teachers fulfill the New York State Learning Standards in the Arts and she reports that the students feel “total ownership of the project”. They use the expertise of NYSTI staff to help them with costumes, scenery, acting and, “anything else we need.” NYSTI staff have been crucial in offering professional development as Tecler has transitioned from a regular elementary school to an arts magnet school. Of coming to a production and its attendant pre-show classroom visit and post-show residency, she says, “Having Mrs. Saplin and her group come to Tecler is an awesome experience. For many years now we have done this. It is a great way for our second graders to feel part of the production: having a prior visit, a morning trip (to the theatre) and then the residency. It makes for a complete experience. It is also a great lead in to our Tecler Stagehands Project.”

Mrs. Lockhart’s colleague at Tecler Arts and Education Magnet School, Annette Twardy, was happy to participate when she came on staff. “I am very much into teaching through the arts so it works very well. Students learn through a variety of ways and expressing themselves through the arts is one of them. They learn social skills by watching a show; it makes them a better listener and appreciator of other people’s work. That carries over into the classroom where we emphasize, the three C’s: concentration, cooperation and communication. Those are important to acting and important in the classroom.”

Renneslaer County

Sean Crall of Goff Middle School teaches 7th grade English and collaborates frequently with his Social Studies colleagues. He brought students to the musical 1776 because it is, “a perfect combination of history and English curriculum”. He finds it easy to plan a trip to the theatre, he says, because, “NYSTI has a lot of experience handling children and making them feel comfortable in the theatre. NYSTI treats the kids like they’re intelligent. The shows have depth and intelligence. The educational materials I get before the show are wonderful.” He attends shows at NYSTI with his students regularly saying, “It’s quality theatre. There is an excellent selection. I haven’t been to a bad production yet. The actors and actresses are top notch talent, the students don’t complain. NYSTI has an eye for education and an eye for entertainment.”

Sue Wold teaches first grade at Carroll Hill School in the Griswold Heights neighborhood. She takes students to NYSTI because, “it really does bring quality literature to life for these kids and the pre-show materials and workshops are fabulous. The kids have to think about what they’ve done that’s similar to what the character has done or they have to try to think like the character thinks.” She received grant money several years ago to take her students and has also used BOCES Arts in Education funds. “Seeing a live performance just brings so many more aspects to a story that adds up to a bigger picture. It’s about becoming a literate person—seeing a book translated into a live performance enhances language development. Hopefully they’ll want to continue. Just the basic skill of theatre etiquette—knowing how to sit quietly and be a good member of the audience enriches their life in so many ways.”

MaryBeth Becker began teaching 7th grade English at Tamarac Middle School after having taught Spanish at Tamarac’s high school. She took students to NYSTI in both capacities. Her Spanish students attended Man of La Mancha. She checks the season of theatre offerings and then makes her curriculum choices according to what she can take students to see because she believes theatre “brings works of literature to life and the pre-show school visit helps the students know what they’re looking for. The students learn about behind-the-scenes elements like the use of light or elements of symbolism. It gives them a perspective about how the whole production comes together rather than just simply the plot. For a large percentage of my students, they only get theatre through school.”

She sees the use of theatre as a help to the increased test-taking students face. “Getting them excited by the experiences they get by seeing a work of art brought to life means they will tend to remember what they’ve seen using all their senses rather than what they’ve read. It helps them make connections. It helps all different learning styles.” Her commitment to her students’ education through theatre is not surprising. It was a high school teacher that got her involved with drama club. “She was looking for dependable kids so I ushered for a show and then got sucked in.” She continued her interest at Siena where she had such a positive experience that “it made me want to continue to learn and try out new areas like technical theatre, acting and directing. For me, I guess it’s just about liking something so much and transferring it to students.”

Saratoga County

Kathleen Dewey, now a 6th grade English Language Arts and Social Studies teacher at Maple Avenue Middle School in Saratoga, was present at the creation of NYSTI’s education programs in 1975 which she calls, “an amazing experience”. She recollects that Patricia Di Benedetto Snyder went to the principal at Lake Avenue Elementary School in Saratoga to enlist the principal in putting the school’s stage to use teaching students stagecraft and other subjects through a production of Peter Pan.

The principal brought Kathleen and another teacher into the project. It was “a real community experience” as experts from town contributed knowledge about Victorian architecture around Saratoga, about life in Saratoga during the Victorian era through a collection of memorabilia, and about clothing of that era. Theatre professionals from NYSTI taught the students how to make scenery flats, lights, costumes and gave them insight into acting including the use of British accents. “The students ran the production. We teachers sat in the audience.”

A highlight was having Peter Foy, the inventor and sole patent owner of the flying apparatus that makes Peter Pan fly, contribute his equipment so that their two Peter Pans could fly in the show. Before dismantling the equipment, two grades worth of students each had the opportunity to fly as did both teachers. “It was a great time in my life. Sometimes those opportunities are once in a lifetime and that was it.”

She continues to take students to NYSTI and sees the benefits in the classroom. In reference to teaching Social Studies she says that, “theatre arts can make those times come alive for the children and I think that’s important especially when they can become part of creating it.” She sees a value to using NYSTI’s programs even in preparing for the now-all-important tests in that “drama is part of the standards but just reading drama can lose the effect. The students really need to see it in a live production. Otherwise it’s very difficult to make those words come alive and they might see that material on the exam.”

Juliette Maitoza, an 8th grade English teacher at Shenendehowa’s Koda Middle School says, “The students don’t have many opportunities to see live theatre and I feel that it’s kind of a responsibility to provide that experience. They have experience with movies but I think the etiquette of going to the theatre is important.” She always takes advantage of having Education Director Christine Saplin come to her school to do a pre-show presentation noting that, “When she comes, it’s not just about plot but what brings a production together. We also talk about careers in the theatre and it’s not just about being an actor or an actress. They see a little community up there and I really see value in that for the students.” The Parent Teacher Association supports the effort by paying for the tickets.