The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Photos and text from wire services — onstage and off — be a guiding principle.
“These kids are so close to adulthood they can taste it, but they don’t have all the responsibilities of adulthood yet. So it’s important to give them a safe place where they can fail or experiment and it doesn’t matter.”
Truth is so ruthlessly important in her department that her students are as likely to brutally offer a critique that her outfit or hair isn’t working as they are to decide that their dramatic scene isn’t strong enough.
“I want them to feel confident enough to call out any adult, any bureaucrat, any politician, anyone, even their teacher,” she said. “They need to speak truth to power.”
Heather Hitchens, president and CEO of the American Theatre Wing, said Herzfeld is a great example of so many teachers doing great work under all kinds of difficult circumstances across the country.
“She does her work every day and she believes in it. What the kids are doing is enough that the idea that someone outside of that would recognize it has floored her,” said Hitchens.
Herzfeld, the mother of two adult children, has been teaching drama at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School since 2003 and has led some 50 productions. She notes that drama can help students find their voice, teach teamwork and problem solve — features that arts administers also stress.