A group of Syracuse University students has spent months working with Syracuse youth, guiding them through theater, design and media workshops that will culminate in a live public performance this spring.

The students are leading Taller de Teatro (Theater Workshop), an annual, bilingual creative arts program based at La Casita Cultural Center on Syracuse’s Near West Side.

The program, which involves Punto de Contacto/Point of Contact and Syracuse Stage in addition to La Casita, delivers culturally oriented arts education for community youth, says Tere Paniagua, the University’s executive director of cultural engagement for the Hispanic community. The workshops build dual-language skills, artistic presentation abilities and stage-presence confidence for children ages 6 and up.

The public performance will be held on Saturday, April 25, at La Casita as part of the annual Arte Joven/Young Art exhibition, a celebration of visual art, music and dance. The event is open to the public.

Mutual Benefits

Taller de Teatro benefits both the students who lead the workshops and the children who participate, Paniagua says. “This program creates meaningful opportunities for University students to engage directly with the community while developing professional skills.”

The structure of the collaboration creates a dynamic environment where students and youngsters learn from one another, she says. “Several of the student instructors are studying drama and they are facilitating workshops alongside students from the creative arts therapy graduate program. Other students are contributing through documentation, photography, video and communications skills. In this way, the program becomes a multidisciplinary learning experience where students apply their training in a real community setting.”

For young actors and for theater students in particular, the chance to gain experience as instructors early in their careers can open important professional pathways, Paniagua says. “They are learning how to guide creative processes, work with children and adapt theater practices to educational and community contexts. Ultimately, the efforts of those involved are tremendous and they allow La Casita to offer high-quality theater programming to local youth.”

Kate Laissle, director of education at Syracuse Stage, says involving Syracuse Department of Drama students as teaching assistants for this program helps inspire and train the next generation of theater educators while providing programming that supports community connections.

‘For Everyone’

“The ability to partner with La Casita and build on our relationship and its well-established programming also helps show that theatre is for everyone,” Laissle says. “Working collaboratively between performance, design and storytelling, students get to experience the depth and breadth of theater. Using multiple capacities of theatrical art-making lets young people use their creativity in ways that serve them best. It is outstanding to see the growth of the students, both school- and college-aged, over the course of this program.”

This year’s student participants, who lead acting workshops and provide media support and documentation, are: GB Bellamy ’27 and Sofia Slaman ’27, acting majors, Department of Drama, VPA; Nashaly Bonilla ’28, theater design and technology major, Department of Drama, VPA; Catie Kobland ’21, G’26, fine arts graduate and master’s candidate in creative arts therapy, VPA; Iman Jamison G’26, master’s student in library and information science, School of Information Studies; Sara Oliveira ’29, film and media arts major, Department of Film and Media Arts, VPA; and Sophia Domenicis ’28, broadcast and digital journalism major, Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Three Presenting Partners

The program is possible because of a collaboration among three university-connected organizations:

• La Casita Cultural Center is a program of Syracuse University established to advance an educational and cultural agenda of civic engagement through research, cultural heritage preservation, media and the arts, bridging the Hispanic communities of the University and Central New York.
• Punto de Contacto/Point of Contact, celebrating its 50th year, bridges cultures and disciplines through exhibitions, poetry and  a permanent art collection. Its El Punto Art Studio has served youth since 2008.
• Syracuse Stage, the city’s leading professional theater, contributes expertise through acting and playwriting workshops that strengthen University-community connections and support literacy development.