Child's Play NY

Theater is not an extracurricular. It is a life curriculum.

I can tell you firsthand, as a theater kid who went on to start and grow a business, that the skills I learned by stepping into other people’s shoes, being immersed in stories, and, most of all, working with an ensemble are profoundly essential.

Connection. Artistry. Self-advocacy. Communication. Collaboration. Poise.
These aren’t “soft skills.” (What does that even mean?) They are literally survival skills for the modern world.

Child’s Play NY is enrolling now for summer and fall sessions. Join us! Link in bio to learn more.

Thanks to and for these epic pics of our camps and production classes.

I’m so proud of our Shakespeare students, and I truly believe every kid everywhere would flourish if given the chance to speak his language.

I’ve been memorizing Shakespeare for fun since age 6 when my dad (a classical actor) taught me an Oberon monologue and I got hooked. Over the last 20 years, I’ve directed and produced scores of kids in his plays. Here’s the thing: simple techniques exist to break down the text and make it powerful, personal, and full of meaning. That’s why our students keep coming back and become a little obsessed with his work. I’m with them.

New Yorkers, come meet us at the theater this week! Our young students are performing A Midsummer Night’s Dream and A Winter’s Tale. Ticket proceeds support our summer camp scholarships, and only a few spots remain for Shakespeare camp in August. Link in bio to grab both.

To the classroom teachers curious about bringing Shakespeare to your students: I’ve got you. Watch this space for my piece coming out in Edutopia, where I break down the exact ways actors approach the text (spoiler: it should be no different for students).

Kids + Shakespeare = Joy. Come see it for yourself.

Summer is long. Too long to spend it isolated, over-scheduled, or staring at a screen.

At Child’s Play NY, kids don’t just “do” theater…they build something real together. In one week, they go from strangers to collaborators, learning to say “yes, and” to new ideas, and mounting an original story on stage.

What they leave with: confidence, communication skills, creative problem-solving, emotional intelligence, and new friendships forged from the joy of being a storyteller.

We’ve been doing this since 2009.
Spots for August are going fast.
Link in bio to find your kid’s perfect week.
Your future leader is waiting in the wings.

This is not one of those boring, sweaty assemblies that you may remember from your elementary school days.

I was inspired by how much fun our Greek Myth theater classes are for kids…and so, wanting a way to bring that energy en mass to more students at a time, I wrote a play.

It’s a reimagining of Ovid’s “Atalanta and the Great Race” myth. With a wink to reality tv and sports broadcasting, this show hits all the highlights, includes audience participation and elevated the story alive in a snappy contemporary way while still bringing big Greek Myth energy.

There are built in games, body breaks and a talkback, but the best part is, it brings live theater to kids right where they are. It’s the kind of show that gets them laughing, even whooping…even running!

Teachers love it because it ties in with students’ ELA classes: units on word play, point of view, storytelling and of course, mythology. And the students just love it. Here they even wanted to race our protagonist after the show. It was a photo finish, but in the end, a fourth grader bested Atalanta.

So, New York educators, if you are ready for a truly joyful, learning-filled assembly, for your students message me to learn how we can bring this to your school.

Many thanks to for your vibrant student audience and of course our extremely talented teaching artists - Aline, Anne, Chidube and Emily!

“Cheat out” is common theater language, but I don’t love it, especially for kids. I’ve had students genuinely stop and ask, “Why would I cheat? What does that mean?” Words matter. This one needs an update.

Directors use it when a young actor is closed off, upstaging themselves, or angled away from the audience. But there’s a simple technical fix that makes a world of difference, and it starts with their feet.

Here’s what to look for: Their downstage foot is often parallel to the stage, or their body is angled entirely toward their scene partner. If you can get them to slightly open that downstage foot toward the audience, you’re halfway there. That one small shift lets them share themselves with both their scene partner and the house.

If needed, I’ll jump onstage and model it myself. Seeing it in action is everything.
Then, once they’ve found their footing (quite literally), I say: “Shine your heart out!” 

That phrase brings their face forward and lets them radiate their story into the audience. It’s a beautiful reframe, because it connects the physical adjustment to the emotional truth we’re always chasing. Their heart leads, their face follows, their character lands.

Speaking about their hearts also reminds them why the shift matters. Young actors work so hard, building their character, learning lines, connecting with scene partners. But on show day, all of that work needs to travel into the audience. 

The last step of the process is bringing their character forward and sharing them with the room.

So next time you see a kid with their back to the audience, skip “cheat out” and try this instead. Let me know how it goes. 🎭

Celebrating Aurèléa, a gifted teacher, creative artist, and wonderful part of the Child’s Play NY community. Thank you, , for sharing a glimpse of your story and letting us capture these sweet behind-the-scenes moments from camp. We also seriously applaud your work in bringing theater to those spaces that need it most. Hooray for your imagination, care, and energy that you bring to our students and families every day.

I never fail to get chills walking into our theater space.

On any given day we are practicing comedic timing, finding our pitch in a song, our balance in a dance, connecting each other on stage and with our character’s journey and then, in the end, sharing it generously with a room full of strangers.

Raising up the next generation to be storytellers, artists, people who hear their voices fully and know that what they say matters, is truly the great honor of my life!

I’m excited to announce that the fall season will be open to the public for enrollment on Thursday. Spots will quickly. I hope that new friends will find us and feel that Child’s Play NY is a home for them as well.

Here’s our full season. Follow the link in our bio to learn more and get ready to register!

The Lion King Kids - Grades 1-3

Shakespeare’s The Tempest - Grade 3-5

Something Rotten Jr. - Grades 4-6 and 6-8

Legally Blond the Musical Jr - Grades 4-6

Twelfth Night - Grades 6-8

See you at the theater! ♥️ Jocelyn

IMO, calling out “One voice, one mic!” can only get you so far. Especially at this burn-out phase of spring when we are crawling to the finish line. Chatter and side conversations can reach new levels and so, my solution is a very simple prop:

The (fake!) Microphone.

The second a child holds a “microphone,” something shifts in the room.
The voice holding the mic suddenly matters, it gets louder, more authoritative.�The other students instinctively lean in to listen. It does the work for you.

This is the power that imaginative play can have in classroom management. So now, “One voice, one mic” turns into something students can actually see.
And because kids are wired for play, the fake microphone works almost like magic:
� 🎤 it gives authority to the speaker� 🎤 it supports respectful turn-taking� 🎤 it reduces blurting and side conversations� 🎤 it helps quieter students feel empowered to speak

No batteries required…No actual amplification! Just their imaginations doing the heavy lifting.

Maybe you do already use a talking stick or turn-taking tool but I really encourage you to try this and see if the extraneous noise fades a little more, and the speaker’s voice grows bolder and more confident.

Here’s when to use it: � • morning meeting� • partner shares� • read aloud discussions� • SEL circles� • class debates� • closing reflections

Tiny prop. Huge shift. Let me know how it goes! The finish line is near. 🎭