Education

THE THEATRE IS A CLASSROOM.
THE CLASSROOM IS A THEATRE.

Reaching across New York City, Learning Workshop seeks to transform lives by provoking students to create and engage with theatre.

Several distinct elements make up our Learning Workshop program. But no matter how students intersect with us, we’re always pursuing a common set of goals:

• To provide opportunities for students to learn and create theatre
• To integrate theatre into the academic curriculum
• To improve student literacy and critical thinking skills
• To increase cultural participation among young people
• To expose students to the richness of the NYTW community

For students who dream about participating in the creation of theatre—we believe that they should have a clear path to turn those dreams into reality. We also believe that participating in and learning through theatre can assist students in understanding concepts within any subject of the school’s curriculum.

Our current school partners include DreamYard Preparatory School, Fordham High School for the Arts, Gramercy Arts High School, High School of Telecommunication Arts and Technology, Lower Manhattan Arts Academy and Renaissance High School for Musical Theater and the Arts.

Students from our partner schools attend special matinee performances and benefit from classroom residencies and career mentoring workshops with our incredible teaching artists.

STUDENT MATINEES

Young people are an integral part of our community and we’re proud to hold a special student matinee for each of our shows. Learning Workshop partner schools and community organizations attend–and everyone participates in lively post-show conversations with the cast and creative team.

CLASSROOM RESIDENCIES

Our semester and yearlong teaching artist residencies bring our work to classrooms across New York City. Students participate in movement exercises, discussions, writing workshops, and other activities that complement their theatre studies, and/or enhance their understanding of another academic subject.

Production-related residencies include attending a special student matinee performance, culminating in a post-show workshop to reflect on the experience of seeing the live on-stage performance they’ve been studying.

CAREER MENTORING WORKSHOPS

Our mentoring workshop series helps us connect to the next generation of theatre professionals. Every month, high school drama students visit NYTW to discover behind-the-scenes job opportunities in the theatre. They learn what it takes to put on a show from both an administrative and technical point of view—and they apply that knowledge in activities and exercises aimed at enriching their other theatre studies.

Want to bring NYTW to your school community?

To learn more about becoming an NYTW school partner, or to bring an educational program to your learning community, contact Alexander Santiago-Jirau, Director of Education, at AlexanderS@nytw.org.