2024 Excellence in Theatre Education Award winner CJay Philip | Getty Images.
2023 Theatre Education Award winner Jason Zembuch Young | Getty Images.
2022 Theatre Education Award winner, Roshunda Jones-Koumba | Getty Images
2019 Theatre Education Award winner, Madeline Michel | Getty Images
Excellence in Theatre Education Award
Behind every great performance is inspiration, and behind that inspiration is a great teacher.
Through the partnership with the Tony Awards and 一本道无码, the was created to help recognize a K-12 theatre educator in the U.S. who embodies the highest standards of the profession and demonstrates a positive impact on the lives of students, advancement of the theatre profession and a commitment to excellence. The winner is announced at the annual ceremony in New York.
2024 Award Winner
CJay Philip
Founder and Creative Director
Dance & Bmore
Baltimore, Maryland
CJay Philip created Dance & Bmore in collaboration with Baltimore youth and families for students in grades K–12. The program provides accessibility to high-quality professional training in theater production (both onstage and backstage) and performance. They partner with organizations to ensure that young adults, regardless of their background or circumstances, have equal access to the transformative opportunities that its programs provide. CJay actively works to remove barriers and create an inclusive environment in all Dance & Bmore’s theatre programs, which are free to participants.
2023 Award Winner
Jason Zembuch Young
Theatre Director
South Plantation High School
Plantation, Florida
Jason Zembuch Young has long been a proponent of providing excellence through inclusive theatrical programming. When he arrived at the school nearly 20 years ago, he learned of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) population, and he made it a mission to open the theatre to this group. Each year, he produces two full-length mainstage productions, a play and a musical, in both voice and American Sign Language (ASL). Zembuch Young has reshaped policies to provide interpreters during and after school to teach his hearing and DHH actors and crew how to communicate and perform.
2022 Award Winner
Roshunda Jones-Koumba
Theater Director
G.W. Carver High School
Houston, Texas
Sensational. Nurturing. Inspirational. Admirable. Welcoming. Amazing. If there were more superlatives in existence, chances are they would be used to describe Roshunda Jones-Koumba. Although no stranger to recognition for her work as a theatre arts educator, she is modest when it comes to accepting recognition. She chooses, instead, to focus on her students and gives them credit for the success they've had as an award-winning troupe of thespians for the past 17-plus years.
2019 Award Winner
Madeline Michel
Theater Director
Monticello High School
Charlottesville, Virginia
Since taking over the drama program 12 years ago, Madeline Michel has used her program to help students find their voices when dealing with the triumphs and pitfalls of life as a teen in today's world. The drama program and its students have become award-winners who are known for their original works.
2018 Award Winner
Melody Herzfeld
Drama Department Director
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
Parkland, Florida
Herzfeld has been teaching drama since 2003 and has produced over 50 productions. She has produced the Children's Theatre Project since 2003 and has received countless Critics' Choices and state selections to represent their district in Thespian competitions.
2017 Award Winner
Rachel Harry
Theatre Arts Teacher
Hood River Valley High School
Hood River, Oregon
For the last 30 years, Harry has taught drama at Hood River Valley High School. She is known for creating performances that sell out at her high school theatre and at a larger middle school theater with 1,100 seats. The drama program she built has inspired alumni and colleagues alike to pursue their dreams in the arts.
2016 Award Winner
Marilyn McCormick
Performing Arts Teacher / Theatre Director
Cass Technical High School
Detroit, Michigan
Among the thousands of students McCormick has taught, she has trained actors, playwrights, poets, producers, directors and theatre educators. Her students have gone on to attend colleges and conservatories before performing in regional theatre, off-Broadway, Broadway, television and film.
2015 Award Winner
Corey Mitchell
Performing Arts Teacher / Theatre Director
Northwest School of the Arts
Charlotte, North Carolina
Mitchell’s diverse background in theatre and commitment to the craft has made him a great asset to the community and region in which he works. He has mentored many students, who now find themselves working for him on a professional level. Through his tutelage, his students hone their craft and bring first-class productions to their audiences. Thanks to Mitchell’s influence and the power of arts education, some of those students are now attending the country’s most prestigious theatre arts schools and looking to make their own mark within the industry.