I recently finished my tenure as a middle school theater teacher at Conchita Espinosa Academy.
While there, I helped the school charter their Thespian troupe and proudly served as their Thespian Sponsor, filing paperwork, guiding students and working with the wonderful district and state sponsors for the national Jr. Thespian organization of Florida.
As a school, and a “Mastery Program,” we participated in the District One Act Festival and the District and State Individual Events, the latter of which students were to initiate and prepare themselves. I was honored and pleased to witness firsthand the students’ individual progress as they showed quantifiable success from one level to the next. I also personally enjoyed the opportunity to organize everything from directing their One Act submission, to incorporating exploratory concepts in their classes, to designing their troupe logo design and group sweatshirts.
The EdTA (Educational Theater Association) and ITS (International Thespian Society) are two of the most awe-inspiring organizations, guiding and encouraging the next generation of theatrical performers. While I still developed my theater classes based on my own individual educational experiences and what I felt could be developed in my particular group of students, the support of these organizations served as a backbone to the program I developed and to the lessons I decided to teach.
Erika Diane 