Fiscal Years 2025 and 2026 of Shakespeare with Talent Unlimited High School

Hello again!

As I explained in my previous post, last year was a tough one for me when I lost my dad. While I went to California to be with him as often as my schedule would allow, I still needed to fulfill my responsibilities at Circle in the Square, which included grant applications and reports, marketing, and Arts Outreach with schools, one of which was this Shakespeare program with Talent Unlimited High School. One of Circle's annual auditors, who follows my blog, asked if I completed all of my work last year since I didn’t post anything here, so I’m back to say that yes, I did! This post will cover our TUHS work for both FY25 and FY26.

The layout was similar both years. We capped the sign-up sheet at 16 slots, with some reserve backup spots. This gave us enough time to really connect with each student and do meaningful work on each scene at TUHS on the Upper East Side of Manhattan before tech/dress rehearsal and the performance on the Broadway stage at Circle in the Square Theatre.

I direct this program each year, and, like the past couple of years, I asked Gretchen Schneider to direct half of the scenes while I directed the other half. This way, we were able to work in two classrooms at the same time with four students and two scenes per time slot.

Once we met with the students, we found scenes that they liked, then moved forward with rehearsals to practice voice and diction, projection, understanding of the characters and text, blocking, connection with their scene partner, and authentic acting. Working with Shakespeare’s heightened language is no small task. It demands curiosity, discipline, and the bravery to uncover emotional truth beneath the verse. Our young TU actors met this challenge with dedication and openness, and we are deeply proud of the work they brought to life.

I worked with our Artistic Director at Circle to find our Lighting and Sound Designer, Costume Designer, and their assistants, Stage Manager, and Poster and Program Designer; and at TU, we always welcome a student Production Assistant who assists our Stage Manager, learns the ropes of working in a professional theatre production, and is recognized in our program.

Once rehearsals are underway, Gretchen and I make notes for our Costume Designer, who comes to one of the rehearsals at TU and measures all of the students. I then start working on our production script, which includes an opening speech and introductions for each scene to give the audience an understanding of what’s happening in each play before the scene begins. I draw set plots for the script, write sound and light cues for our Lighting and Sound Designer, and create a detailed set and prop list for each scene, a marketing poster for our Art Designer to make pretty, and the program for the performance. As we get closer to the performance date, I write a to-do list for our tech/dress rehearsal, make sure we have all the props and set pieces we need, find door monitors to stay posted in the lobby during our days at Circle in the Square, and make sure all documents are printed and ready to go.

We always have our tech/dress rehearsal and performance at Circle in the Square so students can rehearse in full costume, lights, and sound before performing on the Broadway stage.

Both years went beautifully. It’s a lot of work in a fairly short amount of time, but the fulfillment of witnessing the students learn, thrive, and shine on stage is always deeply rewarding.

In 2025, tech/dress rehearsal was May 19 after one of my PS 11 Playmaking performances (it was a long day!), and the performance was May 26, Memorial Day, at 7:00 p.m. Here is a photo of Gretchen and me after that show:

Left to right: Gretchen and me after the May 26, 2025 performance

In 2026, tech/dress rehearsal was June 1, and the performance was June 7 at 8 p.m. Here are a couple of photos of us after that show:

Left to right: Gretchen and me after the June 7, 2026 performance

Left to right: Me and Gretchen after the June 7, 2026 performance

As always, while I love the photos of our students in costume, I never post photos of minors or identify them by name in order to protect their privacy.

It always takes a village to produce a strong residency process and student performance. A huge thank you to our student cast, our crew, Gretchen, TUHS, and Circle in the Square, with special gratitude to the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, District 5 Council Member Julie Menin, the New York City Council, and The Waldman Foundation for their funding support. This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

2024–2025 and 2025–2026 Arts Education for Actors Alumni Program and Playmaking Performances at Circle in the Square Theatre

Welcome back! It’s been a while since I’ve written here. I didn’t post in this blog last year because my dad was in and out of the hospital before he passed away in March, just as we were beginning rehearsals and performances for our FY25 Playmaking program with PS 11.

While it was a very rough year for me, all of my work continued. We had excited young PS 11 playwrights looking forward to seeing their scripts come to life on the Broadway stage, a Circle alumni team that worked hard all season, and grant applications and reports that needed to be handled. The show must go on…

Auditors at Circle in the Square asked why I didn’t post in 2025, so I’m doing a quick check-in to say that yes, all of my Circle work and programs continued as usual. I flew back to be with my dad every chance I could, while continuing my responsibilities in NYC.

There were four PS 11 3rd-grade classes in FY25, culminating in four final performances on the Broadway stage at Circle in the Square Theatre on May 19, 23, 30, and June 3. The student playwrights did a fantastic job, as did our alumni Residency Assistants and actors.

You can learn more about this Arts Education for Actors alumni program and Playmaking residency in my previous blog posts and here.

I’m grateful to have made it through a difficult year, and thankful to this 2024–2025 team that did a phenomenal job!

2024–2025 Team: Left to right: Me, Gretchen, Alex, Gwyneth, Elle, Johannes

Our 2025–2026 Arts Education for Actors alumni program and Playmaking residency at PS 11 began in early fall when a team of Circle alumni was chosen and I began preparing for our Orientation and workshops. By then, I had already scheduled our Playmaking residency dates at PS 11 and was waiting on final schedule confirmations from PS 11. Orientation was November 6, 2025, and then the team began their training with workshops in Classroom Engagement and Strategies for Inclusion to learn about working in Manhattan public school classrooms and supporting diverse learners before the residency started right after Thanksgiving. Our Planning Meeting with PS 11 was in November to give me enough time to prepare all worksheets and documents tailored for each class and student. We are committed to making sure that each child, no matter their language, learning style, or individual needs, has the support and care to successfully write a play that they feel good about by the end of our time with them.

We always work with every 3rd-grade class at PS 11. There were five classes of 3rd-graders this year: three G&T, one Gen-Ed, and one ICT. We love working with each class and the varying learning styles and personalities of each student. Playmaking has always been feeling-based, encouraging playwrights to explore the emotions they and their characters may feel through expressive dialogue. On the first day, as always, we began with a scribble exercise in which students discovered their characters through a Rorschach-esque scribble-examining creative process. Once they chose two of their favorite characters, they created detailed character profiles before beginning their scripts. At the end of each school day, I met with our alumni team to debrief and discuss the kids’ work and wellbeing as well as their own. Our team this year was unique in that they all graduated together and knew each other from Circle the prior year. Each of them had their own vibrant and distinct personality, while their support for each other as a team was beautiful to witness. They always had each other’s backs and rooted each other on, which brought me great joy.

We finished the residency on February 12, then jumped into rehearsals before the five performances at Circle in the Square Theatre on March 2, 6, 9, 10, and 13. The team did a spectacular job, and the young playwrights were thrilled to come see their plays on the Broadway stage. The residency portion of our year ended on March 19 with an Assessment Meeting with all of the teachers at PS 11 to debrief and discuss all of the successes of the season along with any fine-tuning for the following year.

Each year the Arts Education for Actors team attends the 2-day NYC Arts in Education Roundtable’s Face-to-Face Conference in April at City College of New York, along with optional online workshops, all of which are paid for by Circle in the Square Theatre School. As always, we are incredibly grateful to our patron, foundation, and government support at Circle. We could not continue our Arts Ed work without the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs and The Waldman Foundation. A huge thank you to them!

The Arts Education for Actors season ends with a few more workshops to help prepare our team for future work in the teaching arts, and a final 1-on-1 meeting with me to debrief and see how I may be of service and support to each of them in their future should they choose to continue their work in Arts Education. I’m thrilled for all of our graduates and their new teaching arts endeavors at The New Victory Theatre and beyond. Congratulations, team! Your work as a group and charisma as individuals, along with your enthusiasm, support, kindness, talent, and care were remarkable, and you were truly a tremendous pleasure to work with!

I never post photos of students or the sweet notes and posters they create for us in order to respect their privacy, so instead I'll do what I've done in the past and share a photo of our team during one of our performances:

2025–2026 team, left to right: Anissa, Jaylen, Faith, me, Hayley, Pascal

…and our vibrant team at the Face-to-Face Conference on April 8–9:

2025–2026 team, left to right, top row: Pascal, Jaylen, Anissa, Hayley; bottom row: Faith

2018/2019 Playmaking Final Performances

It’s this time of year again! We’re in the midst of our final Playmaking PS 11 performances, and all is going well.

Daniel Judah Sklar, who created this form of playwriting (called Playmaking), collaborated with Circle in the Square and Manhattan’s PS 11 (elementary school) 18 years ago, which started this program. I joined this team five years ago.

Each year, 10 Circle in the Square Theatre School alumni are accepted into the Arts Education for Actors program (at Circle in the Square), which includes, among other phases of training to be teaching artists, a five-month paid residency at PS 11. The 10 actors become Residency Assistants (RAs), and mentor students as they write their scripts.

Daniel teaches the first three classes of third-graders in the morning with five of the RAs assisting him, while I teach the last three classes, with five other RAs assisting me. There are six classes altogether. Each class gets its own performance on Broadway, and each child in each class has their own original play performed by the RAs/professional actors. After five months of working and bonding together while the kids write and edit their plays, it’s a deeply fulfilling experience for us all.

Daniel’s and my group had our first performances last week. Both of our 2nd performances were today, and both of our third performances will be on Monday. If you’d like to come to a show, let me know and I can give you details.

Watching the kids react to the actors bringing such meaningful life to their words is thrilling and heartwarming. Playmaking focuses on feelings: the kids’ and their characters’. We consider it a great responsibility to respect these young playwrights, their feelings, and the messages they intend to convey in their plays; so to finally see their joy after a lot of work put into this process means the world to us, and me. We will miss these kids!

I’m filled with gratitude for many things: my (and Daniel’s) responsible, caring, enthusiastic, and talented group of RAs; being on the team at Circle in the Square; my friend Daniel Judah Sklar; the teachers and administration at PS 11; and the students, who brought true feelings and honesty to our work every day.

Here’s a photo of my fabulous team and me taken today at Circle in the Square Theatre.

Left to right, upper row: Sara Lily, me, Bryan Songy, Robin Murray. Lower row: Alex Acosta, Molly Williams

The Three Billy Goats Gruff at PS 166

I'm grateful to have worked as a teaching artist at PS 166 (The Richard Rodgers School of the Arts and Technology) yesterday on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I spent 45 minutes to an hour in each of the five kindergarten classrooms introducing acting and theatre. Since all classes were in the process of reading The Three Billy Goats Gruff, I created a lesson plan with the focus on that story. After a warm up and discussion, the kids rehearsed, then performed in small groups as five characters from the book: the little billy goat; the medium-sized billy goat; the big billy goat; flowers, grass, trees, and vegetables in the meadow; and the troll. It was a delight to work with such enthusiastic kids and supportive teachers. Thank you to Colin O’Leary at Circle in the Square for offering me this fun job; and thanks to PS 166 for having me! 

Photo credit: Jim Henderson