Journal & Topics Media Group

Leyden’s Spanish-Language Theater Program Wins Award, Offers Spring Productions


Leyden District 212’s Teatro Leyden, a bilingual approach to a high school theater program, was one of three programs honored as a Magna Awards 2018 Grand Prize winner.

Sponsored by the National School Boards Association, the Magna Awards Program recognizes school districts that use original, inventive methods to promote an increase in student achievement.

A panel of judges selected District 212’s Teatro Leyden as an outstanding example of equity in education in the less than 5000 enrollment category. Judges noted Teatro Leyden’s unique approach to engaging underserved students and also reviewed the program’s success, longevity, sustainability and capability of being duplicated by other school districts under similar conditions.

Teatro Leyden emerged five years ago when the district’s theater department noticed only a few Hispanic students were auditioning for plays and musicals. In addition, very few Hispanic community members were attending the shows.

Theater department members Bill Mitchell, Adrianne Nix and Victor Pilolla considered the matter and realized the unintended message to students was that theater participation was limited to students who speak English.

To remedy that perception and to recruit Spanish-speaking students, the trio decided to try something different. “We were looking for ways to attract members of our Hispanic student population and encourage them to participate in the theater program,” Leyden’s theater productions manager and technical director Victor Pilolla. “We came across La Gringa, a show written in both Spanish and English. We thought, why not, it couldn’t hurt to try.”

In an innovative move, the theater department held auditions for and staged La Gringa, the tale of a young woman caught between her Hispanic culture and adjusting to life in New York, as two plays with two casts, one English-speaking and one Spanish-speaking. As a bonus, some bilingual students opted to perform in both shows.

The experiment worked as more Hispanic students joined the program; and community members who had never been in Leyden schools before began attending shows.

“In both cases, the message from the district is that our schools and our programs are for everyone,” Superintendent Nick Polyak said. “Teatro Leyden has become a part of the school culture.  It empowers our students to get involved, and engages a broader population of community members.”

On April 7, 2018 district representatives discussed program development and showed images and video clips to several thousand people attending the NSBA’s annual conference held in San Antonio, Texas.

This spring, the program is presenting “El Espiritu de Hispania”, or “Spirit of Hispania”. Shows are scheduled in Spanish at 7 p.m. May 3 and May 11, and at noon May 5. English versions of the production are at 7 p.m. May 4 and May 10 and 4 p.m. May 5.

The play, a series of five vignettes adapted for the stage by Jules Tasco, explores Latin American mythology and includes stories about María, La Llorona, and The Baker’s Neighbor among others.

The cast and crew is composed of Spanish and English language-speaking students from both campuses. The proceeds from the play will benefit Leyden’s Dreamers Alliance.

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