This year, San Francisco Youth Theatre has welcomed several new Teaching Artists to the team. We asked our artists to share a reflection with the community about their first month with students and staff. This month, we are featuring SFYT alum Jackson Penfield and newcomers Camila Pérez Santiago and Ichtaca Lira! We’re proud to support the careers of arts educators and are excited to see how their ambitions find a place in our community.
Jackson Penfield:
My first month working as a full fledged teaching artist for San Francisco Youth Theatre has been exactly what I had hoped it would be. I consider myself a “product of the program” so to speak. I took classes and was in SFYT productions from age 11 to 15, and after that I periodically worked as an intern. Having the chance to be a teacher and mentor figure to students in the same position I once was in has been extremely rewarding. I see myself in many of the kids I teach, and it is an exceptional privilege to be able to teach them. Beyond teaching my own class, I am learning so much from assisting other teaching artists, I feel as though I am really growing as both an artist and an educator. The travel is not, however, something I fully grasped. SFYT serves kids and communities across the entire city, so I find myself spending a large amount of my time these days in transit, and in neighborhoods I once only visited in passing. I find joy in my travel though, as it helps deepen my appreciation for the city in which I grew up.
Camila Pérez Santiago:
My name is Camila Pérez Santiago, I am a Nuyorican teaching artist that is new to San Francisco. I am so grateful to SFYT for welcoming me and giving me a space to learn! One of my favorite parts of this month has been traveling to different schools in the city and meeting so many young artists. My experience teaching in the past has mostly been with middle and high schoolers. But at SFYT, I am having the opportunity to also assist with TK classes and am loving it. Because I love music, getting a chance to sing and use my imagination with the younger ages has been an unexpected surprise. I have also appreciated being able to do classes in Spanish. Being surrounded by communities that reflect my own has made me feel at home and excited to create. I couldn't be more grateful to SFYT for the space to share my skills and continue learning. I can't wait to see these young artists grow!
Ichtaca Lira:
I feel really grateful to be working here because of how much love the community has for what they do. In my first month as a teaching assistant I’ve had a great time experiencing the limitless creativity of our students. This fall I’m supporting Acting is Believing Levels 1 and 2! We’ve done a ton of improv so far, choreography practice, and memorization games. Sometimes I stumble but that’s all good because it motivates me to continue to value my relationship to movement. It’s exhilarating to see everyone make a real effort, but I also hope to get to a point where I let myself relax a bit more during breaks and socialize like just a person. It’s a beautiful thing to be in a space where people feel comfortable enough to talk to you about their interests and ask questions about yours. And even if those interactions don’t happen, this work continuously reminds me of why I love youth theater. Young people deserve a place to say so much about who they are by just doing. Convening in a theatrical way reveals a lot about what everyone values at once and can accomplish together. The young people of SFYT have so much to say and I am so glad that I even get to listen.