A Look Back at Our Year of Learning Workshop and Community Engagement

It’s the start of summer! Now that the school year and the season at NYTW have both ended, we thought it would be the perfect time to reflect on our year of Education & Community Engagement programming. In addition to another successful season of our after-school programs, including Mind the Gap (in NYC and London) and a comedic new work created by our Youth Artistic Instigators, we hosted a range of in-school residencies through our Learning Workshop program, and a variety of community engagement events through our For the Culture series.

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Our Learning Workshop program brings our team of NYTW Teaching Artists, and their expertise across a range of theatrical experiences, into the classrooms of our six partner high schools across the city. During these residencies, students expand their knowledge of theatre and performance, gaining valuable skills to take with them in the future, whether they are striving to continue in the arts in the future. In addition, our partner high schools attend student matinee performances throughout the NYTW season, book-ended by pre- and post-show workshops with a Teaching Artist to prepare for and reflect on the themes of each show.

 

Shakespeare, Dialects, & Improv

Across two months, Teaching Artist Zach Fike Hodges worked with students at Renaissance High School for Musical Theater & the Arts on all things Shakespeare. With the goal of helping students feel truly confident in their knowledge and fluidity with Shakespeare’s language, Zach approached the residency with literary and embodied lenses to allow students to connect the text to their experiences.

Meanwhile, at Gramercy Arts High School, students also got their taste of British theatre as they worked with Teaching Artist Adam Kee to learn British Received Pronunciation and more during a short residency all about dialects. The Gramercy students received a sampler plate of different skills: later, they also “yes and”-ed their lessons from Teaching Artist Ania Upstill, a Theatre of the Oppressed-trained joker, during an improv residency and joined Teaching Artist Brent Shultz for a brief stage combat residency as well. Beyond offering some valuable theatrical skills, these three residencies also encouraged the Gramercy students to get out of their head, find their confidence, and push past self-criticism.

Auditions, Acting for Camera, & Screenwriting

Each year, getting advice for auditions and acting on camera are popular topics with our partner schools, given the opportunity to support their students in their pursuit of acting with our Teaching Artists’ experiences. At Fordham High School for the Arts, Teaching Artist Marchánt Davis hosted several sessions with some tenth and eleventh graders, offering a crash course in all things related to auditions and acting for the camera. For example, students practiced slating for the camera and practiced making self-tapes—staple skills necessary to practice for a future in acting in television or film.

On the other side of the camera, students at Gramercy Arts High School worked with Teaching Artist Rachel Abraham for a short residency on screenwriting. Students left their two-day workshop with original short scenes, which they could take with them into the future to expand or even put on their feet!

 

Supporting Schools’ Productions

When partner teacher Rachel Zweig needed a music director for the Lower Manhattan Arts Academy (LoMA) production of The Addams Family, NYTW Education & Engagement Fellow Julie Monteleone answered the call, teaching the students their vocal parts to pull off an exciting and tight production. Julie encouraged students to strengthen their vocal technique as they rehearsed their harmonies, building towards a full weekend of performances in their auditorium.

“Teaching at LoMA was easily a highlight of my time as a fellow in the 2025-26 season!” Julie exclaimed. “It helped me gain confidence as a music teacher and accompanying students on the piano, which has been a long-term goal of mine as a teaching artist. It was so inspiring to watch the students grow throughout their three-month rehearsal process, and by their final performances, they were singing confidently and clearly all while fully embodying their characters.”

Teaching Artist Kerry Warren, a performer trained in stage combat, popped up to The Bronx to work with students at Dreamyard Preparatory for a stage combat residency. During the residency, Kerry led students in learning choreography for fight sequences for their senior showcase production of Aliens vs Cheerleaders by Qui Nguyen.

“I’m always amazed with the talent and yearning to play that comes from Learning Workshop at NYTW from students and their classroom teachers,” said Kerry. “Who knew there could be so much care when pretending to slap someone!”

Student Matinee Residencies

Before attending a student matinee performance here at NYTW, students are introduced to the show through a pre-show workshop in their classroom, most often the day before the performance. During the session, Teaching Artists lead discussions about the themes of the show, identifying important questions to reflect on while watching. These topics are further explored with an activity, using theatre, art, storytelling, poetry, and more to connect the theme to the students’ own experiences.

For example, during pre-show workshops for Tartuffe, several Teaching Artists used commedia dell’arte-inspired exercises and tableaus to embody the themes of satire from the show.

Following the student matinee, students are invited to ask questions of the artists during a brief talkback. The NYTW Education & Engagement Team always makes sure to conclude each conversation with two traditions: first, asking the artists to share their advice with these aspiring, young artists, and second, taking a selfie with the full theatre!

 

Back at the partner schools following the matinee, students reflect in a post-show workshop, sharing with their Teaching Artist and peers about what they took away from the production, before completing one final activity. During a post-show workshop following The Peculiar Patriot this spring, NYTW Education & Engagement Associate Marty Chandler led students at LoMA in the creation of a shared quilt, drawing images of students’ representations of community, then connecting them—an exercise meant to mirror the community quilt-making Liza Jessie Peterson’s character does in Patriot.

Though the school year has concluded, the students from our partner schools will carry with them the lessons and experiences from their Learning Workshop residencies further into their theatre careers. And who knows? Perhaps one day, they will end up back here at New York Theatre Workshop—no longer a student in the audience, but as an actor on the stage, a designer behind the scenes, or a playwright workshopping a draft of their new play upstairs.

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Community Engagement & the For the Culture Series

NYTW Education & Engagement hosted 30+ community events across the three shows in the season and during In the Bricks Festival. Community members gathered with us here at the Workshop for parties and activities, like our Drag Bingo Royale for Tartuffe, and engaged in meaningful discussions, like during our first-ever Community Conversation with NYTW Artistic Director Patricia McGregor and Emmy-award winning journalist Allison Gilbert about the themes of My Joy is Heavy. And throughout the season, performers and community members joined us for our Open Salon series to share their poems, monologues, songs, dances, and more.

These gatherings would not have happened without the energy and support of our 25 community partners, including 12 hyperlocal collaborations throughout the season as well. For example, during our Arts & Community Day, Rod Rodgers Dance Company taught a family-friendly dance class over at Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company’s studio also on the block. Hebrew Union College became homebase for NYTW during our Casebook program surrounding the making of Tartuffe. And just over in the West Village, St. Luke in the Fields hosted Hetrick Martin Institute for a special Saturday Church-themed ball, igniting a now recurring event for the two partners.

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We are already looking forward to celebrating community and getting back into the classroom this fall, and to share with our students and partners in the artistry and impact of the shows in 2026-27 season. We hope to see you there too!

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Learn more about Learning Workshop or For the Culture, and follow the NYTW Blog throughout the school year to read “The Brief” Study Guide for each production throughout our season.

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Categories: 2025/26 Season, Education, and For The Culture. Tags: Education & Engagement, For The Culture, Learning Workshop, and Marty Chandler.