Education Coordinator

Position Opportunity

Position: Education Coordinator

Reports to: Education Director

 

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­About Theatre for a New Audience

Founded in 1979, Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA) is an award-winning off-Broadway LORT- C theatre whose mission is to develop and vitalize the performance and study of Shakespeare and classic drama alongside other new work.  TFANA is dedicated to building a culturally diverse and equitable environment and strongly encourages applications from underrepresented populations. The position will remain open until a diverse and qualified pool of candidates is identified.

 

Values and Strategies:

We are guided in our work by five core values: a reverence for language, a spirit of adventure, a commitment to diversity, a dedication to learning, and a spirit of service. These values inform what we do with artists, how we interact with audiences, and how we manage our organization. Language is at the heart of all we do. We focus on the language and ideas of writers. We believe that hearing great language powerfully expressed improves our listening skills, opens our eyes, and deepens our perception and understanding of the world around us. We infuse our work with adventure—provocative ideas, visual boldness, and a sense that we are on a lifelong journey with Shakespeare and classic drama. We are committed to diversity—diverse approaches to dramatic material, diversity on our staff, in our casting and audiences, and multifaceted relationships with uniquely different communities. Learning is a fundamental principle of the Theatre, and we value learning as a process that takes place over time—a process that depends on our ability to promote curiosity, reflection, study, research and dialogue in all our work. We are dedicated to service. Inspired by our civic role, we seek to create broad public access and to bond the diverse New York Community through the language, pleasure and ideas of classical drama.  To advance our mission and values, Theatre for a New Audience:

  • produces Shakespeare alongside other plays of classic stature and major contemporary plays, creating a dialogue over centuries between Shakespeare and other authors about our contemporary world;
  • builds long-term associations with artists and offers programs for their growth and ongoing development;
  • promotes the humanities by presenting dynamic discussions with leading artists and scholars in a variety of fields in conjunction with the plays we present;
  • programs for wide-ranging audiences—from connoisseurs of diverse repertory to young people who are seeing groundbreaking productions for the first time;
  • promotes access for diverse audiences by offering reduced-priced tickets;
  • provides rich arts-in-education programs, including teacher training and the largest in-depth program to introduce Shakespeare in NYC Public schools;
  • contributes to the international theatre community through touring, artistic exchanges and partnerships.

Education Coordinator

Working in close collaboration with the Education Director and other departments at Theatre for a New Audience, the Education Coordinator supports the programming and administration of the Theatre’s arts education programs for NYC Public Schools and teachers.    The Theatre seeks a highly organized individual with office and administrative experience, excellent communication skills, and a demonstrated commitment to arts education. The Coordinator supports TFANA Education’s three primary programs:

  • New Voices Program: a playwriting residency program in New York City public schools, culminating in TFANA actors performing students’ original work.
  • World Theatre Project: a Shakespeare residency program in New York City public schools; students attend performances at TFANA and conduct project-based explorations of that season’s play, ultimately performing their own version.
  • Professional development for educators: this includes partnership with the Shakespeare Center of LA and the Southern Poverty Law Center to create a Shakespeare & Social Justice curriculum; partnership with the Royal Shakespeare Company to create a Critically Conscious Shakespeare course; and a biannual NEH-funded Summer Institute for teachers across the country (2022’s Institute theme was “Body Politics: Authority, Sex, and Resistance in Shakespeare’s Plays”).

 

Responsibilities include:

  • Assistance with management of in-school programs, including:
    • Maintaining an up-to-date schools database with required documentation for schools-based programming;
    • Communicating regularly with teaching artists, teachers and school-based personnel, artists, and external vendors;
    • Building and maintaining detailed, up-to-date program calendars for residency programs;
    • Coordinating school field trips and assisting with in-person and virtual events (talkbacks, matinees, etc.);
    • Travel to all 5 boroughs of NYC via public transit to observe teaching artists delivering residency programs in public schools.
  • Coordinate all aspects of NYC DOE accounts payable process: invoices, rosters, work orders, and purchase orders.
  • Manage payroll for staff, faculty, and guest speakers across all programs.
  • Participation in writing and editing of curriculum guides for Shakespeare and playwriting residencies, with a focus on curriculum differentiation.
  • Assistance with hiring and training of teaching artists and departmental interns.
  • Assistance with event planning and management for all professional development programs.
  • Compiling and presentation of statistical information on partner schools and professional development programs, for development and reporting purposes.
  • Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications and Traits:

  • BA degree or equivalent work experience.
  • Office and administrative experience.
  • Background in arts education and/or with the NYC DOE a plus.
  • Knowledge and understanding of the plays of Shakespeare.
  • Motivated, detail-oriented team player and problem-solver.
  • Excellent computer skills (Microsoft Office 365; Google Suite).
  • Outstanding communication skills (verbal and written).

This would be a great opportunity for you if:

  • You enjoy administrative tasks and are motivated to support students and educators by keeping everything organized behind-the-scenes. (Think using spreadsheets to track complex calendars; building timesheet-tracking systems; and managing invoices, purchase orders, and other documentation.)
  • You have experience building relationships over email and managing a high volume of time-sensitive communications and complicated schedules. (This would be a great job for stage managers or school coordinators looking to transition into arts administration, for example.)

You connect arts education to social justice work; you’re excited about designing curriculum grounded in decolonial, antiracist, and critically conscious approaches to Shakespeare; and you value partnering with students, educators, and administrators to realize inclusive, student-led classrooms. (We’d love to hear about your experience in one or more of these areas from any perspective – educator, student, organizer, administrator, paraprofessional, volunteer, etc.)

This is a full-time, in-person role requiring frequent travel around the 5 boroughs of NYC. TFANA is currently offering staff the option to work from home one mid-week day per week, when circumstances permit. All TFANA staff are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

 

Compensation:

Salary: $48,000.  Benefits offered include medical, vision, Life and long-term disability insurance, paid time off, Employee Assistance Program and voluntary pre-tax programs for retirement (403[b]), Transit and FSA.

 

To Apply:

Applicants for this position should send chronological resume and separate detailed cover letter in PDF or Word format to jobs@tfana.org with “Education Coordinator” in the subject line. 

 

Theatre for a New Audience is committed to attracting, hiring and retaining employees who reflect the cultural diversity of our community. We believe that every employee has the right to work in a respectful environment that is free from discrimination, consistent with our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and respect. This commitment extends to all aspects of the employment relationship.