Five Lessons I’ve Learned in My First Year

By Amanda Urban

1. Grad School is a Blast and a Half

Graduate school can seem like a scary idea at first. We all wonder: *How on Earth am I going to balance grad school, working, and my personal life?*

While finding that balance is still a challenge for many, our program makes it much easier because the classes are genuinely **a blast and a half**. I actually look forward to going to class every week because I know we’ll be doing something engaging, purposeful, and fun.

In most classes, our professors get us on our feet right away. The moment we begin our warm-up activity, the stresses of the outside world melt away. We’re there together to learn how to become better teachers — and to have fun while doing it.

The moment I fell in love with the program was when Sobha told our Artistic Lab class that the purpose of the course was “to play and have fun” for an hour every week. During that hour, we learned how to juggle, do stage combat, parody music, dance, sing, and play together. I loved that the program encouraged us to make time for the arts in our own busy lives.

My other classes kept me smiling too. In Drama in Education, we created a moving dragon using our bodies and traveled to imagined places through Guided Imagery. In Teaching Literacy Through Drama, we wrote and performed plays for each other. In Conflict Resolution Through Drama, we created flash forum pieces that sometimes made us laugh and always made us want to make a difference.

These classes invigorate and empower me every single week. I doubt many people can say that about their grad school experience.

2. Take Every Opportunity

I’ve learned that this program offers so many wonderful opportunities, and I should **take every opportunity** to challenge myself as a student, artist, and teacher.

On a small scale, I’ve learned to volunteer for activities in class. How will I learn to facilitate Rainbow of Desire if I’ve never participated in it? How will I get my students excited about a Dance Party warm-up if I don’t dance my heart out first?

On a larger scale, I took advantage of the weekend elective classes offered once a semester. In the spring, I took a Baby Theatre course and learned how to engage 0–5 year olds in drama. Even though I’m primarily interested in teaching adolescents, I was glad I took the opportunity to learn about early childhood development.

I also volunteered at the Harlem Children’s Theatre Festival. I helped at the dress-up booth and loved watching children imagine themselves as queens, train conductors, or superheroes with just a simple costume change. It was powerful to know we may have introduced some children to theatre for the very first time.

3. Practice Makes Perfect

Our program has taught me that being a good teacher means being prepared and being willing to take risks. In many classes, we are required to facilitate lessons — either individually or in groups.

These facilitations have been incredibly valuable because they let me try different strategies in a safe space before using them with my high school students. Through both my own facilitations and watching my classmates, I can see what works and how I might adapt activities to fit my own teaching style.

Sobha once told us to think of the program as a salad bar: we should take the tools we learn and choose the ones that feel right for us and for our classrooms. For now, we continue to experiment — because **practice makes perfect**.

4. Ensemble, Ensemble, Ensemble

Anyone involved in theatre knows how quickly a cast and crew become a family. Amazingly, our program builds that same sense of **ensemble** in every class.

We laugh together, share our challenges, and support one another. This strong sense of community has taught me how important it is to build ensemble in my own classroom. A strong ensemble creates positivity, safety, and deeper learning.

5. The Importance of Advocacy

While many of my friends and family have always supported my passion for theatre, I’ve noticed that people who aren’t regularly exposed to the arts sometimes question its value in education.

This year has taught me the importance of **adv