Welcome to Inside The NYC Classroom, a blog series spotlighting New Victory Teaching Artists’ experiences visiting NYC classrooms. In this second installment, our Teaching Artists reflect on past classroom workshops and the impact of connecting students to the arts beyond their class visit to the New Victory Theater.

New Victory Classroom Workshops, led by our multi-talented professional Teaching Artists, feature curriculum for the classroom. The curriculum is built to enrich students’ theatergoing experiences by actively engaging them in the art forms and themes of the show on the New Victory stage.

New Victory Classroom Workshops, led by our multi-talented professional Teaching Artists, feature curriculum for the classroom. The curriculum is built to enrich students’ theatergoing experiences by actively engaging them in the art forms and themes of the show on the New Victory stage.

Classroom workshops take place across the five boroughs, are taught by a pair of New Victory Teaching Artists per workshop, and are available to New Victory Education Partners before or after a school performance free of charge.

For our second installment, New Victory Teaching Artists Janice Acevedo, Pallas Gutierrez and Zahra Budhwani share their reflections on what being inside the NYC classroom means to them.

Meet Pallas, Janice and Zahra!

Pick one of your most memorable workshops around a New Victory production. How had students responded to the themes around that show?

Pallas: When I was working with a group of 8th grade students around The Vanishing Elephant, they engaged excitedly and openly, collaboratively creating puppets and analyzing the more serious themes of the show, including forced migration and separation. The students were able to play, exploring a form of performance that was unfamiliar to them, while also analyzing the piece, practicing empathy for the characters and connecting themes from the play to global current events.

Janice: One of the most memorable workshops I had the pleasure of teaching revolved around Step Afrika’s production The Migration: Reflections on Jacob Lawrence. During this workshop, we not only introduced students to the remarkable artistry of Jacob Lawrence but also delved into a lesser-taught period in our country’s history. The students consistently crafted exceptional dance pieces inspired by panels from Lawrence’s iconic Migration Series. Providing students with exposure to the history of the Great Migration, the art of Stepping, and the works of Jacob Lawrence was an incredibly enriching and profound experience.

Zahra: For The Vanishing Elephant, we created a rainy pond soundscape at the beginning of the workshop that the students could return to if they needed to feel grounded during the lesson. The soundscape was not only a helpful tool in centering us, but also a great prompt that led us to reflect on how we can create the feeling of home when we are far away from it.

How does your work as a New Victory Teaching Artist help impact students’ peer-to-peer relationships?

Pallas: Every lesson plan incorporates some amount of group work. I often get the chance to watch students discover that one of their peers has a secret talent, such as breakdancing, or that their heritage is represented in the show we are going to see. Every workshop or residency plants the seeds for greater community in the classroom.

Janice: Given traditional school structures, students do not often have a chance to play and create with their classmates. As Teaching Artists, we get to bring these elements into the room and get their artistic and collaborative juices flowing. Whether working in a small group or as a full class, there are plenty of opportunities for students to get to know their classmates in new ways!

Zahra: One of the pillars we center our curriculum around is Discovery, and I often find that, no matter the content, students will get to do activities or practice new skills that push the limits of what they’ve done before. Giving students the opportunity to discover new things alongside their peers really builds classroom community and expands students’ ideas of who their classmates are and can be.

What have you learned from the students you’ve worked with in New Victory Classroom Workshops?

Pallas: The students I’ve worked with as a New Victory Teaching Artist have reminded me to be bold and create, especially if you’re nervous; often, that is the time you figure out exactly what you need to say or do. Even as a professional artist, this reminder is always timely.

Janice: I have learned so many things from the students that I’ve been lucky enough to teach. If I had to pick one thing it would be to never underestimate the impact that the arts can make on someone’s perspective on the world around them.

Zahra: The students always remind me how freeing and enriching it is to put full effort into a new activity, even when we may initially be really bad at it! Whether it be card tricks or circus or breakdancing, the students allow themselves to fail gloriously and still keep trying. I always try to channel their fearless novice energy when I’m trying something new.

Read more about the work we do in NYC classrooms. Want to see more of our Teaching Artists in action? Follow us on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.