I Notice, I Like, I Wonder…..Jennifer Katona

I Notice, I Like, I Wonder…..by Jennifer Katona

Ah reflection the cornerstone practice of any great educator  - as I sit down to reflect on the year it occurs to me how quickly it all went by. I know for many of you who spent the year transcribing interviews, rehearsing musical numbers from Jungle Book, reading Dewey and re-writing papers you may have felt like the semester would never end but as quickly as it began in August here we are preparing for graduation.

In spirit of tradition I would like to frame my remarks in what has come to be known as my “LikeWonders” J

I Notice – how much everyone has grown over the semester both in practice and skill as theatre educators but also in dimension and character. I have found myself often this year standing in awe of the talent and integrity of the gradate candidates and alumni and wondering how I became so fortunate to be able to call you all colleagues.

I Like/Love – how the ensemble continues to grow! This year I was able to place 75% of student teachers in the classroom of alumni from the program. That continuation of learning is what makes CCNY unique and strengthens the learning and growth of our theatre teachers.  I have loved all the visitors to CCNY this year –Jeremiah Drake, Jonothan Neelands, Cecily O’Neil, Stephen Belber, Nilaja Sun and Karel Zdarek –each brought a new lens by which to look at the work we do and added new perspectives to our ongoing dialogues.

I Wonder what the coming year will bring –which master Teaching Artists will we welcome –how will CCNY candidates continue to demonstrate themselves as artists, educators and advocates? In what ways will our program adapt to new innovations and mandates and how will those changes impact our learning?

The joy and dread of working in education is that you get to say hello to new faces each school year and this Fall we welcome 30 new candidates however with that welcome comes a good by e and we must say farewell to 25 graduates –however as history has proved I know those graduates will not be far from the heart or minds of the program. I know our relationships and conversations will change but our connections will remain steadfast.

As always it has been an honor to serve as your leader and in the words of Jonothan Neelands spoken to us in January –let the ensemble we’ve developed be a model of how we should interact with each other as human beings in this world….have a great summer!!!

In the Spririt of Collaboration: Coordinating Volunteers at Face to Face

In the spirit of collaboration: Coordinating Volunteers at Face to Face

By Tamar MacKay

This year, I had the pleasure, and sometimes challenge, of coordinating volunteers for the Face to Face conference, the biggest arts in education conference in the New York City area. I was lucky to be working with Matt Freeman, theatre administrator and educator extraordinaire, who has held the position for several years. The Face to Face conference is largely volunteer-run, and in the days leading up to the conference, I was swapping emails back and forth, taking note of schedule changes and cancellations. The theatre industry is always crazy and ever-changing, so I couldn't blame people for having to modify their schedules and for having to take other gigs that would help them in their career...or to pay their rent.

The night before, Matt and I and the rest of the Face to Face team had everything we could have in place, in place...but there was still such an element of uncertainty. Would everything run smoothly? What glitches would pop up that we hadn't anticipated? What would our volunteers be like? More importantly, would we have volunteers? They did have a call time at an ungodly hour....

The next morning the Face to Face team was there at 7am, and as I was moving coat racks and setting up nametags, I wondered if everyone I had been in touch with had decided to give in the urge not to leave their warm beds. But, just a few minutes later, our volunteers began arriving! By the looks of their willingness and enthusiasm, I wondered how many of them had already had time to grab their Starbucks usual.

The role of a volunteer isn't always glamourous, but it is necessary and, I hope, in the end, rewarding. Volunteers were ready to change the set-ups of rooms (which included moving heavy chairs and desks back and forth from room to room), to assist the effervescent Ben Compton, Conference Coordinator, with any tech trouble-shooting in the sessions, set up food, direct traffic, and to complete a plethora of other tasks. We were lucky to have a team that was so ready and willing to help each other, to jump in when needed, and to troubleshoot problems that no one could have predicted. I felt a sense of pride over these people, many of whom I had just met, knowing that they were members of my field. I knew that the arts education was filled with willing and talented people, and the team that we had was proof of this. Matt and I gave direction, but when it came to pure problem-solving, we often threw the task at hand to our volunteers. We had quite a few stage managers and production people, who knew how to change the entire layout of a room or hall efficiently with a short turnover time. We had performers and front of housers who made people feel welcome and helped attendees with where they needed to go. We greatly relied on, and utilized, the talents of our volunteers. With such a great team, everything ran smoothly and we were happy that the volunteers were able to attend sessions at the conference as well- they deserved it! The team acted as a true ensemble, with everyone pitching in and making sure that everything that needed to be done was done.

The Face to Face conference was one of the many experiences I've had at City College that proves that teamwork and collaboration can bring you a long way. Matt and I received many compliments regarding how smoothly the conference ran, and we were sure to acknowledge our great team- it couldn't have been done without them

Family Arts Day - Lisanne Shaffer

Family Arts Day 2013

Lisanne Shaffer

On Saturday April 27^th CCNY Educational Theatre hosted Family Arts Day at Aaron Davis Hall.  I was lucky enough to act as coordinator for the event alongside the amazing Sobha Kavanakudiyil!  When I was first asked to take on this role I was delighted to have the opportunity but also extremely overwhelmed.  This is the third annual Family Arts Day so I wanted to make it the best yet.  I quickly learned that hours of planning were going to be vital to having a successful day.  I have been to community arts events in the past and never fully appreciated the amount of careful planning that goes along with these events.  I will certainly look at community events through a completely different lens now, the lens of pure appreciation!

In planning Family Arts Day Sobha and I collectively decided on the performances, when and where to put each performance, timing of all activities, what supplies to order, and where each volunteer would spend their time throughout the fast paced day.  I am so grateful for everything I learned from Sobha during all of this outlining.  It felt very much like the final weeks leading up to a huge performance.  There were equal moments of excitement and doubt.  I learned that things will not always go as planned and that there will be major and minor hiccups.  Sobha handles all of these situations with such calm and poise.  I learned to smile through it all, because it will all work out in the end.

On the morning of the 27^th I was buzzing with excitement.  I woke up to an absolutely beautiful day and was so eager to get the day started.  All of the volunteers were on time and equally eager which made the morning run so smoothly.  I was so proud to a part of this dynamic educational theatre community we have at CCNY.  Our theatre skills have made us so effective at getting things set up.  I was so grateful that everyone came together in such a positive way.  Everyone worked together seamlessly and at 10 am we were ready to rock and roll!  The morning was a bit quiet but people did begin arriving right at 10.  The first performance was a performance piece on fables done by Sobha’s Children’s Theatre undergraduate class.  They were so excited to perform and did an excellent job.  It was a great start to the day!  This was followed by a melodious sing along.  The energy really seemed to pick up when the sing a long started.  After the sing along we had an original performance written by Jono Waldman called “Ruby and the Storm”.  Jono and his amazing cast, Wendy Rojas and Sobha K, were an absolute delight to watch.  From here everyone was whisked away into the black box theatre for a performance of “I Laid an Egg” by Double Image Theatre Lab.  By this time we had well over 100 people at the event and people kept filing in!  After Double Image Theatre Lab gave an outstanding performance the craft tables were really buzzing.  I saw creative paper bag puppets on the hands of quite a few rambunctious kids, so many different animals were coming to life due to the amazing skills of our face painters, beautiful paper flowers colored the space and a mini masquerade was beginning as children tried on their feathered mask creations.  Then, all of a sudden a drumbeat began as the talented Eric Hoffman, Kailie Larkin and Sarah Abrams led a huge audience out onto the beautiful lawn for a fantastic clown show! It was during this show that I saw so many parents playing and getting involved with their children.  It was amazing to see Dads playing imaginative games with their children and Moms making shapes with their kids using only body parts.  We were so lucky to have such a beautiful sunny day and such talented clowns. Bravo to all who were involved.  After the clown show, we had the talented Martha Hearn’s original play “Bright Lights, Big Cheese”.  This show starred Lindsey Detota, Lindsey Lieberman, Olga Putilina, and Julia Niedzwiecki.  It was amazing how much this show really inspired a sense of play throughout the kids watching.  I heard one child say, “the mice just wanted to play, can you believe that?!”.  We ended the day with a raffle. It warmed my heart to know that those who won could continue their learning and appreciation of the arts further with prizes including tickets to the New Victory Theatre, "Newsies" on Broadway and a one-year membership to Lincoln Center!

Overall I couldn’t be happier with how the day turned out.  Being a part of the planning was such a valuable experience that I will certainly take with me through what I hope is a long career as a theatre educator. I want to give a huge heart felt thanks to all of the volunteers who gave your time for this event! I am in awe of the people I am fortunate enough to get to work with.  To sum things up, a child whom I know came to me at the end of the day and said “I never knew I could have so many adventures in one day!”  Congratulations to all who participated, you gave everyone involved adventures that they will never forget!