ANNuAl RepoRT 2006–2007 - Roundabout Theatre Company

educAtioN Bronx
22
Theatre High School GraduationJazzland, an original play about Hurricane Katrina
On June 26, 2007, a small crowd
gathered outside the historic Studio
54. The famed venue has witnessed
the gathering of many diverse crowds during
its 90-year history. However, this group of
people was there to attend a first in the
history of Studio 54: a high school graduation.
As parents, siblings, friends, and teachers
waited for the doors to open there was an
understandable buzz and excitement in
the air. For this was not only the first such
ceremony to be held at Studio 54, it was the
very first graduation for the Bronx Theatre
High School (BTHS), established in 2003.
This early summer day would serve as a
pinnacle moment in the lives of 64 ecstatic
students and in the history of Roundabout
Theatre Company’s 11-year-old Education
Program. The graduation was a culmination
of one bold idea, two years of intensive
planning, and four years of hard work and
groundbreaking innovations in arts education
by countless teachers, administrators, and
theatre professionals.
In 2001, then Education Director Margaret
Salvante-McCann approached Roundabout’s
leadership with the seemingly bold idea that
Roundabout should explore applying to a new
initiative begun by New Visions to support
the creation of small, effective high schools,
in which students could meet high standards
of both academic and personal success. At
first the idea to start its own school seemed
bold for an Education Program that was
formalized only five years earlier. However,
both Todd Haimes and Julia Levy knew
the profound impact Roundabout’s unique
approach to education could have in a fullyintegrated
setting. Two years later, after a
competitive application process and intense
planning with administrators, teachers, and
parents, Roundabout’s first New Century
High School, the Bronx Theatre High School,
opened its doors. The school was located in
one small wing in the larger John F. Kennedy
High School. The challenges were plenty,
but students and teachers alike, under the
leadership of Principal Debi Effinger, were
determined to make their small school work.
The students and teachers began to integrate
the process of theatre into every facet of the
classroom and soon had a framework within
which they could both explore their artistic
talents and, at the same time, employ those
talents to further their general academic and
personal success.
Four exciting years later, over 75% of the
BTHS’s original freshman class gathered
as seniors in the front three rows at Studio
54 to be recognized by their peers. It was
a truly emotional experience for all, as the
students reflected on their experiences at
BTHS through word and song. The morning
got off to an inspirational start with speeches
from Manhattan’s Deputy Borough President,
Rosemonde Pierre-Louis, actress Portia, and
director Scott Ellis. Then the audience heard
from the students themselves. Salutatorian
Zuleyka Polanco and Valedictorian Julia Rivera
spoke passionately and emotionally about the
impact their experience at BTHS has had on
their own lives and the lives of their fellow
students.