New York City Children’s Theater Apprenticeship Program

Pictured, from left: Education Apprentice Christopher Ritz-Totten, Education Apprentice Rachel Benjamin, and Artistic Apprentice Danielle Pampinella at the 2015 NYCCT Gala.

NYCCT 2015 Apprentices

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.

Applications for the 2020-21 Apprentice Program are now closed.

If you’d like to be notified when the next application period opens, please fill out the following form:

I am so grateful for the opportunities that being an apprentice at NYCCT has given me. Not only have I had the privilege to connect with such a talented and compassionate group of educators and human beings, but I have been extraordinarily lucky to be supported by them along the way. I have grown exponentially as an educator and a theater professional during my time at NYCCT by leading residencies, attending conferences, and professional development workshops.

My time at NYCCT was a fantastic and rewarding one. I learned so much about the “behind the scenes” administrative world of theater, developing an immense amount of knowledge and set of skills that I will continue to utilize and implement. My education didn’t only come from sitting at a computer in the office. It came from asking questions about NYCCT’s departments and how they worked. It came from witnessing the unfolding magic of NYCCT’s shows. It came from assisting in the preparation of those shows and interacting with our enthusiastic audiences. Most importantly, my education came from the staff, who were not only my guides and mentors but also my friends and advocates. They didn’t only value me for my abilities, they treasured and embraced me for who I am. I feel so much more confident and so much more secure in what I am capable of achieving thanks to everyone’s encouragement. And while my apprenticeship may have ended, the friendships I created at and my devotion to NYCCT is ever-lasting.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as an apprentice at NYCCT. I truly have felt that my supervisors care deeply about my personal and professional development, and have continually received excellent support from the staff and fellow teaching artists. I feel that my teaching skills and comfort in the classroom have grown exponentially, as well as my knowledge of how an education department at a non-profit theatre works. I feel so lucky to have completed this part of my teaching artist journey at an organization that has such a caring, passionate, and motivated community.

NYCCT offered me the opportunity to take on projects and responsibility while giving me an environment in which I was supported. I was folded right into the team, and made to feel welcomed and appreciated. I am so grateful for the opportunity to work on varied projects, spending time both in the rehearsal room and with the administrative staff. More importantly, this apprenticeship felt meaningful in that I knew my work was directly supporting NYCCT’s mission of childhood literacy and social development through the arts, and using theater as an active force for good.

NYCCT has been pivotal to my preparedness as an educator and leader. During my time with NYCCT, I lead multiple residencies and was included on many other projects through both the education and production departments. The relationships I built during my time at NYCCT will certainly last far past the ending of the apprenticeship and I am extremely grateful for the many mentors I have supporting me into my professional career.

Being an NYCCT Education Apprentice is one of the best things I’ve ever done. It connected me to a network of supportive, caring, intelligent, and passionate individuals. I’ve grown so much over the past year as a teaching artist. I now feel prepared to take on whatever challenges arise in a classroom. I’ve learned what it means to collaborate with teachers, administration, and students. NYCCT opened so many doors for me. I’ve been able to attend numerous conferences and workshops, meet other professionals from arts education programs from all over the world, and I’ve gotten job offers because of my NYCCT connections. I cannot recommend this program highly enough.

My education apprenticeship with NYCCT was truly the highlight of my year! Before the apprenticeship, I knew I had a passion for educating through theatre, but didn’t quite know how to go about doing it. The NYCCT apprenticeship gave me the tools to be a growingly skilled educator by provided me with opportunities to practice these skills under knowledgeable and passionate leadership.

“NYCCT demonstrates immense devotion to making the arts more accessible to young children, and is also a warm and welcoming place to work. I am extraordinarily thankful that I had the opportunity to be a part of NYCCT this past year as it was an amazing place to grow creatively. The education apprenticeship is uniquely special because it opens up the door to become a better teacher, and provides the opportunity to discover the inner workings of a non-profit organization. I would highly encourage anyone interested in learning more about arts education to apply for this apprenticeship!”

“NYCCT is an ideal place to work, learn and grow. During my time at NYCCT, I had the unique opportunity to take on both small and large scale projects. All of the work that I did was valued and I always felt my efforts made a major impact on the company. Working at NYCCT gave me the confidence and the experience necessary to be a competitive applicant for positions on the management side of theater companies.”

“Since beginning my apprenticeship at NYCCT, I have grown exponentially as both an artist and educator. As Education Apprentice, I was given the opportunity to co-lead six in-school and after-school residencies for students ranging from kindergarten to 6th grade. Through these residencies, I was able to vastly improve my ability to effectively plan lessons for diverse populations. This experience has been truly educational, enlightening, and most importantly, FUN! I am grateful to have had this opportunity and to be a part of the NYCCT family.”