New York City Children’s Theater Apprenticeship Program
New York City Children’s Theater programs cultivate children’s growth in the areas of emotional intelligence, community building and responsible decision-making. The result is empathetic, creative and independent thinkers who make a positive impact on their world.
We believe a city as culturally rich as New York needs a children’s theater that produces high-quality original productions and develops robust arts-in-education programs, serving children in all communities across the five boroughs.
Our mission is to promote children’s literacy and social development through professional theater productions and arts-in-education programs. We reach children and their communities with a wide range of programming, including full-scale productions, small touring shows, interactive workshops and in-school residencies, and engage with them in traditional theater spaces, school auditoriums, classrooms and cultural venues in their neighborhoods. We demonstrate that engaging young people in the arts has a positive impact on their cognitive, emotional and social development, and furthers a lifelong appreciation of the arts.
We are now accepting Apprenticeship Applications for the 2019-20 Season!
Education Apprenticeship
NYCCT seeks two Education Apprentices for the 2019-2020 school year. The Education Apprentices will work closely with the Director of Education and Education Associate. The Apprentices will divide their time between teaching the Literature at Play theatre and music residency program in Pre-K to 5th grade school classrooms, community centers, and homeless shelters across the five boroughs of NYC, and providing administrative support to the education department at the NYCCT office. NYCCT’s Education Programs annually serve an average of 100 elementary schools, community centers, and homeless shelters per year. Current outreach programs include Literature at Play, a theatre and music residency program for Pre-K-5th grades, a multi-sensory musical named FIVE that is designed for students with disabilities and the very young, and two interactive anti-bullying applied theatre workshops for 1st-5th grades.
Education Apprentice responsibilities will include but are not limited to:
o Participate in extensive professional development workshops in the areas of NYCCT’s Literature at Play curriculum design, trauma-informed training, racial justice pedagogy, and various other arts education topics
o Create lesson plans for and lead theatre and music residency programs during the school day and/or in after-school residencies for Pre-K to 5th grade classes in elementary schools, community centers, and homeless shelters
o Provide additional administrative support to education staff
o Provide on-site support at NYCCT events including mainstage shows for school groups and the annual NYCCT gala
Qualifications:
o Experience in and passion for working with children, grades PreK-5th
o Willing to travel to all five boroughs of New York City and neighboring communities
o Background and experience in theatre education and/or music education
o Excellent interpersonal, written and oral communication skills
o Experience using PC based Microsoft Office Programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
Preferred but not required:
o Experience working within the NYC Department of Education Public School system
o Experience working with students with disabilities
o Bilingual
o Familiarity with and passion for children’s literature
Time Commitment:
September 2019-June 2020 (willing to negotiate a different time schedule for the right candidates)
Minimum 10-15 hours per week split between in-office work and in-school teaching (must be available to teach during the school day and/or after school hours on at least two days of the week)
Candidates must be fingerprinted and cleared through the Department of Education in order to teach NYCCT programming. NYCCT will cover the cost of the application fee.
To apply for the Education Apprenticeship, please send resume and cover letter to education@nycchildrenstheater.org with “Education Apprentice” as the subject line. Interviews will take place in July and August 2019.
Artistic Apprenticeship
NYCCT seeks a part-time Artistic Apprentice for the 2019-20 season. The Artistic Apprentice will work closely with the artistic director, as well as other administrative staff. Their focus will be to support the organization’s producing activities and season planning. They will also be exposed to the work of surrounding departments including marketing, development, and general management.
Apprentice responsibilities/areas of exposure will include but are not limited to:
o Production assistant duties on our three mainstage shows for the 2018-19 season
o Stage managing workshops, readings, and New York City Children’s Theater’s Middle School Playwriting Competition
o Maintaining the website and social media accounts for our licensing division TYA Show Rights, and managing TYA Show Rights outreach efforts
o Maintaining cross-promotional partnerships with other nonprofits
o Researching potential new source material for future productions
o Preparing contracts and scheduling production meetings
o General support as needed in the following areas: special events, annual appeals/mailings, membership program, coverage of other children’s theater shows/affiliated artist shows, box office hotline, and front of house coverage during the run of a show
Qualifications
o A love and passion for theater and/or arts-in- education
o Experience or interest in nonprofit management
o Excellent interpersonal, written and oral communication skills
o Proactive, high-energy, and creative
o Computer literacy –fluency with PC-based Microsoft Office Programs
o Basic office skills
Preferred but not required:
Skills or experience in video editing, Photoshop, Excel or fundraising software
Time Commitment:
September 2019-June 2020 (willing to negotiate a different time schedule for the right candidates)
15-20 hours a week, occasional evenings and/or weekends during tech or the run of a production.
To apply for the Artistic Apprenticeship, please send resume and cover letter to artistic@nycchildrenstheater.org with “Artistic Apprentice” as the subject line. Interviews will take place in July and August 2019.
Additional Perks of the Apprenticeship Program
o Monthly NYC Metrocard for the duration of the apprenticeship
o Free tickets to NYCCT’s theatre season
o Behind the scenes access to NYCCT’s staged readings, production workshops and training programs for teaching artists and professional auditions
o Working for a small non-profit theater which allows Apprentices to work alongside full-time staff in artistic, education, development and marketing
o Personalized Mentorship by staff members
o Attending the annual NYCCT gala
o Potential to be hired onto NYCCT’s Teaching Artist roster upon completion of the Education apprenticeship program
o Access to networking and professional development events through NYC Arts in Education Roundtable, Museum Arts and Culture Access Consortium, and other various membership events
NYCCT aims to create a diverse workplace and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.
