From Classroom to Stage: Meet 2018 Excellence in Theatre Education Tony Award Winner, Melody Herzfeld

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 Parkland, Florida, who will literally move from classroom to stage on Sunday night when she accepts the Excellence in Theatre Education Award.

How did you get the news?

I was sitting in class! I was taking attendance, sitting at my desk. My phones starts ringing and I see an unusual number. So I pick up and my mouth dropped! It's so funny because at the end they said, "So, how do you feel?" and I just couldn't even talk. And then they said, "Oh by the way, this is confidential." So I couldn't say a word, even as the kids were coming up to my desk to ask for passes.

I know you get to New York City on Saturday. Are you excited?

I'm so excited! There hasn't been a lot of time to take it in yet. This is our last week of school, so we're really busy cleaning our rooms, getting our exam grades in, handing our lesson plans in... it's just one meeting after another. I haven't had enough time to digest it.

Do you have any nerves about having to talk on that huge stage?

Well now that you just said it I am! [Laughs] Everyone at school has been busting my chops. Every hallway I go down someone says: "Congratulations!" The second question is: "What are you wearing?" Then the third question is: "What are you going to say?"

Your year has been unthinkable... can you talk a little bit about how the arts helped you and your students to move forward?

Until something really big happens in your life, whether it's getting married or having a birthday or having a baby - usually on a happy note - you look back and say, "Wow, I wish I was back there." I know as an older adult, I think back about how school was everything to me. I couldn't wait to go back to school because that's where my friends were.

When something big happens you start to think about how you got there. I always have the graduates who move on... some of them will friend me on Facebook after they graduate and some will forget about me. But then they are in your world. They see who you are. I do this thing where some point in the future I send them a letter and sometimes they write back saying, "I know I was a pain in the neck, but everything that you taught me in class really stuck with me." I think that as an adult you recognize it after you've been through it.

Here where we had something very tragic happen, I think were immediately put in a position to recognize what we have. They realized, "I have a voice," "I understand the news," "I understand writing," "I understand the power of the arts."

The song that your students wrote is incredible...

It's weird because it starts out so daunting. That first chord is the theme of everything. And then by the end of the song it's like "I don't feel as bad. I feel really good!" How did they do that?

What about your job inspires you on a daily basis?

You know, I don't wake up thinking, "Oh I'm inspired today!" [Laughs] You come here everyday just doing the job because you know that this is the point in time you are at. I don't sit around being inspired, but I think when you look back you can see how inspiring it all was. You say, "Wow, what a great year!"

What are you most looking forward to in the weekend ahead?

Trying to stay in the moment. Looking at my family who is going to be around me. My family is so supportive, but they are not in this world. [Laughs] They are not theatre people. I make them theatre people. I'm so excited to watch them. I was even thinking about FaceTiming with some of my students who will have a Tonys party! I want to try to let them in on that.

But you'll be having your own party from Radio City Music Hall!

I really wish we could all be there together. This is not about me. The students make you who you are and they only make you do better. Every year these kids up the bar.