Never without a smile, theater teacher Katie Slattery does what she can to keep every day interesting.
But all the fun aside, she wants her students to walk away from her class having learned life lessons through theater.
“I know it seems like the theater talent and music talent teachers they’re all fun and games and floofy fluff,” says Slattery. But it’s so important to have this place to really express yourself and to be silly and to do improv and to think quickly and to problem solve and so it’s just a lot of fun.”
Traveling from school to school, Slattery has just a couple of hours a week with each of her kids but they say she makes them count.
And Slattery isn’t above helping her students get to the bottom of their troubles. No matter what is going on, her students say that she always keeps the conversations going and is always there no matter what.
“You could go to her about anything.”
Slattery says she’s proud of all of her students when they graduate, but it’s especially exciting to see them come full circle and pour their educations back into the arts here at home.
“They go on to work in the arts and help support the local culture,” she says. “Some of our students have gone on to be on Broadway or show art in London. A lot of them stay here and contribute to the local art scene,”
