This week, we caught up with New York Drama and Theater Teacher Frank D.
Frank filled us in on how he got involved with his passion for drama and theater, why he chooses to make educational travel part of his curriculum and some of his favorite on-tour experiences.
So Frank, we hear you didn’t start out as a teacher. What were you doing before?
After retiring as a Captain from the NYC Correction Department with 20 years of service, I decided to take a few months to just relax and contemplate my future. That lasted about two weeks before I was going stir crazy! I heard about a handyman position at our local high school and after applying for the job was quickly hired.
At the school, I got to meet the administrators, faculty, staff and many of the students who were friends of my daughter (who at the time was a Junior). I had been running a community theater group out of my parish church for over 25 years and always had a passion for theater. I had directed, written and was featured in many wonderful shows throughout the years.
Having made friends with the high school president, I invited him to come see one of our shows. As he left the that evening, he asked if I would be able to put on a show at the high school. Within a year, I developed a Theater Arts and Broadcasting curriculum and found myself teaching.
Frank’s class getting ready to go see a Broadway show!
Wow. That’s a pretty incredible way to get into teaching. Is there a way you tie-in real-world experience with your curriculum?
As part of my curriculum, I take each grade to a different Broadway Show.
This year Freshman saw “The Phantom of the Opera”; Sophomores, “Wicked”; Juniors, “Newsies”; and Seniors, “Les Miserables”. We study each show prior to seeing it so that the students understand the story, know who wrote the music, the “book” and the lyrics, who directed and produced the show and who are the current “leads.”
Seeing the show in-person brings the lessons to life in a way that simply watching it on a screen can never do.
Living so close to Broadway, do you take your students anywhere else to broaden their perspectives?
One of the many stars you can find embedded in the sidewalk along the Hollywood Walk of Fame!
Last year I took 35 students on the EF “Lights, Camera, Los Angeles!” tour and am currently recruiting to do it again in April of 2015.
In addition to seeing all of the attractions in Los Angeles, we had the opportunity to be involved in a make-up workshop offered by a Hollywood film make-up artist and an acting workshop with a Hollywood casting director. Being able to interact with these professionals in their “world” is an experience my students and I will always remember and one that can never be replicated in a classroom.
Thanks for taking the time to chat with us, Frank! We love hearing about your ideas to help give your students even more real-world experience!
To learn more about taking your students on a theater trip to New York City or getting them involved in interactive workshops in Los Angeles, browse our tours or give us a call at 800.503.2323.
