Stage Partners Education Director, Maria McConville, chats with Katie Miller, the Education Director for NYC’s Theater For a New Audience. They discuss student writing, encouraging the less courageous, and even share a game.
MARIA: I’ve had the great fortune to work with NYC public school students on playwriting through the "New Voices" program at Theater For a New Audience. Before starting a residency, there's a great deal of planning with the teaching artist
Stage Partners Education Director, Maria McConville, got a chance to catch the Fresh Professor, James Miles, between classes to hear about his love of collaborating with teachers, how the arts are the “main ingredient” to a student's day and about why you should attend the Arts In Education Roundtable Face to Face Conference in NYC this April.
MARIA: In your experience, and you have taught all over the place, how has Arts Education changed? Anything we should bring back? What are we doing right?
JAMES: When I first starting working in arts education, I worked mostly in after school, as did most of the teaching artists that I met. Over the years, I have seen arts integration happen more frequently, so that the arts are not just an afterthought; they are the main ingredient. I see more and teachers recognize the power of the arts in educating and engaging young people. There is still arts for arts sake, but as
Stage Partners’ Education Director and playwright Maria McConville discusses the importance of building a strong ensemble and how her play #VIRAL can be used to discuss important, but thorny topics through group work.
As a teaching artist in NYC, I have the unique opportunity to step into a variety of school environments. There are the schools with the very active PTA, the schools where you wonder if the Principal ever actually comes out of their office, the school with student paintings everywhere, the school with metal detectors at the entrance…I can go on. But those of us career educators know that no one school environment is like another. Each school has a distinct spirit and vibe—as unique as each student!
That’s why no matter the residency I’m hired for—be it Playwriting, Shakespeare technique, or directing the after-school play, my goal is always to have the group develop into a strong ensemble. This is the element that transcends any scholastic environment.
Time log
7:30am - Alarm goes off. Time to get the day started! It can be hard to get out of bed some days when you’re your own boss, but it’s totally worth it. The morning hours are some of the best times to write. The sun’s coming up, the air is crisp. It's a good way to be productive and motivated!
7:35am
Co-Founder Jason Pizzarello interviews Co-Founder Morgan Gould about how and why she started Stage Partners. New plays for young actors and audiences.
Co-Founder Jason Pizzarello interviews Co-Founder Morgan Gould about how and why she started Stage Partners. New plays for young actors and audiences.
