Open Teaching Artist Positions - Acting Teacher for High School and Middle School

POSITION
Teaching Artist: Acting - 6th Grade, 8th Grade, 9th Grade

*Please Note: Due to the current circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 Pandemic, many classes will be happening fully online, with the additional possibility of a blended in-person and remote model. Please note that Waterwell takes the safety of our staff and students very seriously and will be working with our Teaching Artists to implement teaching plans that are safe and responsible.

OVERVIEW
Waterwell, a civic-minded theater and education company seeks an Acting Teaching Artist to join the Waterwell Drama Program, the company’s growing arts education wing.

ABOUT WATERWELL
Founded in 2002, Waterwell is a non-profit, civic-minded theater and education company. Waterwell strives to prove itself a vital presence in the lives of its audience by remaining always responsive: responsive to the events affecting the world at large, responsive to changing modes of expression, and responsive to the
individuals attending each performance. Through entertainment and arts education, Waterwell hopes to inspire audiences and students to change their lives and the world in which they live. Waterwell believes strongly in the power of the arts in youth development as a way to achieve its mission of inspiration and change. Since 2010, the company’s robust educational arm, the Waterwell Drama Program (WDP), has delivered top-quality, year-round, in-school theater training to over 200 NYC public school students each year through a partnership with the Professional Performing Arts School (PPAS). Partnerships with Manhattan Youth and others provide rich, civically-engaged art-making experiences to dozens of
additional students each year. WDP programs are for students in middle school and high school.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYMENT POLICY
Waterwell is committed to creating an inclusive community of mutual respect where anti-racist and anti-oppression principles guide our decision-making and company culture. We are currently evaluating how our stated intentions align with the outcomes created by our decisions and identifying actions that will make those goals a reality in the short-term and long-term. We believe that having a staff of artists, teaching artists, and administrators that is racially equitable
and represents a wide range of backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences is essential to fulfilling our mission. Equal employment opportunities are available to all. Applicants from populations underrepresented in the theater field are strongly encouraged to apply. All qualified applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, national social or ethnic origin, religion or belief, sex, pregnancy, HIV status, sexual orientation, gender
identity and/or gender expression, age, physical mental or sensory disability, veteran status, and family or parental status.

POSITION
Waterwell Drama Program (WDP) is seeking passionate teaching artists dedicated to inspiring creativity, discipline, and collaboration to join the faculty at the Professional Performing Arts School (PPAS). Partnering with PPAS, WDP provides 6 th -12 th grade students with comprehensive, conservatory-style Drama training during in-class hours, 5 days per week. Strong classroom management skills and experience working with youth required. Classes meet for the full school year, September 2020–June 2021. The acting curriculum is a core part of the drama curriculum for our students. The scaffolded curriculum provides students the opportunity to learn how to develop a toolbox of various acting techniques and methodologies, and apply that to a combination of devised work, existing contemporary and classic texts, and applied performance methodologies. Teachers should be passionate about anti-racist theater and acting training techniques and come with a willingness to share their expertise on these approaches as well as continue to learn. The entire program is rooted in our Artist as Citizen pedagogy/curriculum: a focus on civic-minded arts practice for our students to begin to understand how their theater training relates to their
engagement with larger issues facing society.

We currently have four open positions:

● Middle School Acting I for 6th grade middle school students. This course creates the opportunity for students to work on ensemble collaboration, original devising, and the development of basic acting techniques for scene study and monologues. Along with the previously mentioned skills, we are interested in candidates who have an interest in connecting acting studies to larger program
goals of empathy and citizenship.

● Middle School Acting II for 8th grade middle school students. This course creates the opportunity for students to work on audition technique, heightened language work, and higher stakes contemporary scene study. Along with the previously mentioned skills, we are interested in candidates who have an interest in connecting acting studies to larger program goals of empathy and citizenship.

● High School Acting I for 9th grade high school students. This course creates the opportunity for students to work on ensemble collaboration, development of basic acting techniques for scene study and monologues, and working through. Along with the previously mentioned skills, we are interested in candidates who have an interest in connecting acting studies to larger program goals of empathy
and citizenship.

● Acting Department Head: There will also be an opportunity for the right candidate to come on as our Head of Acting, who will oversee the faculty of the acting department. This person will manage curriculum, grading, and teacher evaluation. Along with the previously mentioned skills, the Head of
Acting should have deep knowledge of anti-racist theater, anti-racist acting practices, an understanding of a wide variety of acting methods and techniques, and knowledge of the contemporary American theater. We are also in the process of decolonizing our curriculum, and are looking for a candidate who is excited to engage in that process with us.

Requirements

*Please note that these roles could be filled by one candidate taking on all of the listed positions, or by several candidates who are taking on one or several of these positions. When submitting your application, please indicate specifically which position(s) you are interested in.

Responsibilities:
● Teach rigorous arts education curriculum for a public magnet school
● Develop class curriculum, lesson plans, papers and projects
● Collaborate with staff on best practices
● Participate in professional development and planning meetings
● Grade students and provide meaningful feedback about their work and growth

Qualifications:
● A deep commitment to/belief in the combination of conservatory-style theater training and artist-as-citizen practices
● An anti-racist teaching practice and inclusive pedagogical approach
● Significant teaching experience required, prior work in urban public schools a plus
● Exemplary classroom management skills
● Experience writing curricula that includes clear, active learning goals
● Dedication to assessing student growth

Compensation:
Seasonal salary based on $50/hour plus paid time off for holidays.

Please send resume, cover letter and a sample lesson plan to jobs@waterwell.org by 10 AM on July 31, 2020. In your cover letter, please be sure to address why you are interested in the Watewell Drama Program and the aspects of the curriculum that interest you most. In the subject of your e-mail, please indicate “Teaching Artist Application - ACTING”