From Classroom to Stage: Catching Up with 2017 Excellence in Theatre Education Tony Award Winner, Rachel Harry

The following presentation of From Classroom to Stage is presented by Carnegie Mellon University, the first, exclusive higher education partner of the Tony Awards. For more information about Carnegie Mellon University, their performing arts curriculum, and spotlights of their multiple Tony Award winning alumni, visit cmu.edu/tony-awards today.

The Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama is the oldest conservatory training program and first degree-granting drama institution in the U.S. Founded in 1914, the school combines established practice with innovation, pedagogical and technological advancement across all disciplines, preparing graduates for success on stage, on screen, behind-the-scenes or within the expanding realm of new media.

Below, meet Melody Herzfeld, a teacher from Hood River, Oregon, who literally moved from classroom to stage last June when she accepted the Excellence in Theatre Education Award.

---

What has your year been like since receiving this honor last June?

It started off with such a bang! I'm not used to getting a lot of accolades, I'm used to just moving to the next show and working with the kids. All of the sudden, it was all about me! (Laughs). That was kind of crazy. I'm an old actor too, so I kind of like the attention, but I'm not used to it! So it was overwhelming.

I'm sure it would be for anyone!

I had so many people call and arrange for radio interviews. And then I had the NPR affiliate here in Portland come in and photograph my class and do an interview. And the newspapers were contacting me... and then you have to go to New York, right, and the whole thing is just non-stop. We were exhausted. We had such a fabulous time. I just remember looking at Pam from Carnegie Mellon and being like, "I wish this could happen for every theatre teacher." You just feel so special! You work so hard. And we all have an ego, so to have that little something happen to you after so many years is pretty mind-boggling.

And then, it just kept happening. A gentlemen came up to me and said, "I want to do a scholarship, and it's going to be just for your theatre kids and the music kids." And it's a thousand dollars a year, which for us is huge.

That's amazing.

And then Portland Center Stage contacted me and said, "An anonymous benefactor wants to have your kids come and see our musical Fun Home." So I went, okay, we'll take the whole cast and crew and parents, and if there are any seats left over, I'll start dipping into my classes of students who aren't in the show! They gave us a tour, and it was just... for some of my students, they have never seen a show like that and they were all treated like royalty. The lead from Fun Home came out and talked to them- just them- and they felt so special. So it stopped being about me and it became about them again, which is really what it should be.

I'm sure they were thrilled...

Then Oregon Arts Summit called and said, "Would you mind coming?" And I said, "Sure, I would love to come to the Oregon Arts Summit. Can I bring my students?" (Laughs.) And they said, "We don't normally do that." And I said, "Okay, that's fine!"

Well Tony Kushner was their keynote speaker, and she said, "He heard you were coming and he wants to meet you. And we mentioned that you really wanted to bring some of the students and he said he really wants to meet them too!" So I had about fifteen very carefully screened kids who came and sat in a private room with Tony Kushner and could ask him anything they wanted! He was there for two hours, they sat at a big round table and just talked- with Tony Kushner!

How cool that this has gone beyond just affecting just you and it has just expanded so far beyond that.

And then I got to do a Tedx. And then all of the sudden, it was like our school got put on the map. And I'm not a speaker. I'm very much an introvert. They said, "What do you want to talk about?" And I had not a clue. And then I'm not sitting there talking to some kids and I was like, "Oh that's it! Theatre can save the world."

What about your job inspires you on a daily basis?

My god, there's so many things. I think it's the lightbulb moments where you see that realization. I tell my students when they first come in, because they're so used to having clearly designed structure and assignments, I'll say, "Teaching theatre is messy. You have to just take what I'm saying - don't worry if you're doing it right, just try to do it. You might not understand what's going on, but just do it. It might be a month, it might be two months later that you go, 'Okay, now I get it.'"

When I see those moments, those are inspirational moments. In my office, I have a couch and an easy chair, and they'll just come in and plop themselves down and just start talking. They'll go, "Oh, I wanted to tell you, I finally figured out what you meant by this." When those complex concepts become understood - oh my god, I love that. It's never, ever gotten old for me.

Melody Herzfeld will be accepting this same award on Sunday night. Do you have any advice for her?

When I had first heard I had received the honor, I was sitting at a table with all the people in my arts department and I turned to them and I said, "This is an opportunity to get focus, to get attention, to get funding. This is an opportunity for all of us, so make the most of it."

I loved standing on that stage. When I walked off, I looked at Casey Cott and was like, "Can I go back out and do that again? That was really fun!" So take those moments, even if they terrify you, and make the most of those opportunities, because it's going to fade away. I've gotten so much for my students and for my program because I received this honor, and it hasn't stopped. Really it's all for the kids. Everything you do is going to be a payback for them.