TheatreWorks lets students peek behind career curtain
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley this month launched “Opening the Curtain,” a video series in partnership with the John F. Kennedy Center of the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. and the Palo Alto Unified School District.
The series, available on the TheatreWorks website, will add new videos monthly and is expected to run through next May. Its purpose, says Katie Bartholomew, TheatreWorks’ associate director of education, is to “share information with students about performing arts careers open to them.”
In one of the two videos now available, TheatreWorks costume rentals manager Melissa Sanchez is interviewed by Gunn High School junior Mishaal Hussain about her costume design experiences.
The other video is a conversation with Giovanna Sardelli, TheatreWorks’ artistic associate and director of new works, who talks about her career developing new works as well as her experience as a director at regional theaters across the country. Erin Brady, a sophomore at Palo Alto High School, interviews Sardelli in the video.
The series is part of the Kennedy Center’s Partners in Education Program to inspire the next generation of budding artists. The videos introduce Palo Alto elementary school students to performing arts careers including acting, tech, scenery, costumes, directing and administration.
For each 10- to 15-minute video, a high school student interviews a theater professional about their job, career path, and what they like best about working in their field. The interviews also cover the artists’ visions about the future of the arts.
Bartholomew says the video series is a welcome addition to TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s K-12 education programs, which reach 15,000 students each year. She points out that the video series can educate students about some lesser-known career options while also helping train them in public speaking, interviewing skills and reflective writing.
TheatreWorks also runs the Children’s Healing Project, an improvisation-based theater arts education program that serves hospitalized children and their families with drama workshops and bedside visits at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, El Camino Eating Disorders Unit and the Ronald McDonald House.