As a teaching artist with programs based in vocal empowerment through theater arts, I never feel I have enough time with students. I always want sessions to be longer and greater in number to allow adequate time for sequential learning and reflection. Most of my programs are residencies varying in length from three to twelve weeks, with some programs running year-round. Some schools want a single workshop for a grade. I know I can’t always get what I want, due to school schedules and funding sources, yet I always wondered if a single workshop had any lasting impact on young students. One day ..read more

Over the next couple months, we will be spotlighting some of our amazing Roundtable Board Members via our new Blog section on the website. Check out our first Board spotlight, Ted Wiprud! ***** Theodore Wiprud, composer, educator, and former Vice President, Education, at the New York Philharmonic, joined the Board in 2005 and served as Co-Chair from 2011-2018. Currently, Ted is consulting in the arts and education, including researching EDI initiatives among American orchestras.Ted was Music Alive Composer-in-Residence with the South Dakota Symphony in 2018-2019, and continues to work with ind ..read more

Wind is rushing through the skies delivering urgent messages to the corners of Arroyo City. The hypnotic push and pull of the waves are a sensual lullaby to the acrobatic fish who stretch as they prepare for their breakfast dance with the pelicans. I am sitting, swaying to this melody reflecting as the last days of the Nepantla Residency creep upon me. I have never spent this much time on a pier. Not a private one. It is divided into sections of three. The wood rots on either end keep secrets of our hostesses’ family; her childhood and its past life. A hurricane paved the way for new wood. I s ..read more

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How is it already April and taxes are due? Last month, I was already feeling a sense of dread as the April 18th deadline approached, the pile of W2s and 1099s just kept getting bigger, and letters from the IRS remained unopened on my desk. I don’t even have a retirement account. I frantically Googled how to do finances on your own and came across an email from the Roundtable about a webinar on taxes for teaching artists. It felt like a sign. There’s something comforting about commiserating in the daunting task of finances as a community. I have eleven W2s for 2021 and five 1099s, while ..read more

Roundtable Note: Filomena Jack is a participant in the inaugural New York State Teaching Artist Mentorship Program. Follow her at @FilomenaJackStudio and FilomenaJackStudio.com. *** When the world was put on pause in March of 2020, like a lot of people, I had to make some quick pivots in terms of how I kept my career afloat and my spirits up. How was I going to make sense of what the hell was going on out there?  I felt like I didn’t have any control but knew that I wanted to do SOMETHING to help others who were struggling. What did I do? I turned on my iPad and focused on bringing b ..read more

Did you know that every K-12 Department of Education public school in New York City has federal money to spend specifically on Arts Education this year? Are your school partners accessing it? On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed into law the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). This money is channeled throughout all levels of government to tackle a wide range of needs arising from the coronavirus pandemic. A large portion of the ARPA money is directed specifically to schools. Schools across the country are required to use the money to respond to students’ academic, social, and emotional needs ..read more

Monisha Bhayana is the Mentorship Coordinator for the NYC Arts in Education Roundtable. In addition to her work with the Roundtable, Monisha works as a theatre teaching artist in NYC and its surrounding areas. She also has served on the board of directors of TADA! Youth Theater since 2019. Monisha is a licensed attorney who previously worked at the law firm Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett LLP. Monisha is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Educational Theatre from the City College of New York with an anticipated graduation in Spring 2022. Monisha shared some of her favorite things a ..read more

The Covid-19 pandemic was a rollercoaster of emotions and frankly a lot to digest. In March of 2020, life as we all knew it changed forever. I never stopped, never paused, I just continued to plough through. Rolling along with every change in both my work and personal life. I kept myself busy from morning until night with zoom meetings, new recipes, workout clips on YouTube,   and staying connected to those outside the four walls of my apartment with social media. When I look back, it seems like a blur, like part of a bad dream that is slightly comforting because I was one of the luc ..read more

…treating the world as predefined and given, as simply there, is quite separate and different from applying an initiating, constructing mind or consciousness to the world. Maxine Green Testing the blocks Paragraph working? I. One of the silver linings of the past year has been getting to spend more time with my three-year-old daughter. It’s not always easy, but I love that I’ve been able to see her so closely at this stage in her life, to notice who she is becoming, and to appreciate the spirit of the three-year-old mind.  We love to read together and the Pete the Cat series is a favorit ..read more