Talia's Story

As a native New Yorker, born and raised in Spanish Harlem and the Bronx, all I wanted to do was perform. In school, the only class I enjoyed was art because it was the only opportunity I had to be creative. By the time I was in high school, I begged teachers to put on a school musical. Due to the lack of resources, funding, and interest it wasn't possible to implement a theatre program during the school day or after-school. I felt my dream of playing Anita in "West Side Story" slowly slipping away. 

With such a need to perform, I knew I had to seek an opportunity outside of school, but where? There were no theatre programs in my community to join, in neither Spanish Harlem nor the Bronx. By the time I was in my Junior year, I found a youth theatre company in the Lower East Side of Manhattan; in a neighborhood booming of all art forms, with a high appreciation of the arts and artists in the community. The company was called Urban Youth Theatre (U.Y.T.), part of the Abrons Art Center at the Henry Street Settlement. I traveled over an hour on the weekends and after-school to take theatre classes, and to rehearse and perform in their productions. I spent three years as a U.Y.T. company member. It changed my life.

I am so grateful for the chance to have been a member in this company, especially at an age when I craved the opportunity to perform. I was the only person from Spanish Harlem there, and there was a handful of members from the Bronx. But majority of the members were from the downtown area of Manhattan, where they had been exposed to a generous amount of theatre arts in their school. I was amazed of how knowledgeable they were on musicals, Broadway, and the industry; as well as their high appreciate for theatre. I quickly realized how different neighborhoods in New York City valued the arts and made it available to community members. 

Thinking back on this experience, I know that I am not the only one that went through this; and that it is still happening today. There are many students who have the need to be creative through performance, yet have no outlet. It was important for me to do this research because of my personal story and connection to experiencing the lack of theatre arts in the predominantly Latino neighborhoods I grew up in. I hope that this blog will become a part of the conversation of the lack of theatre arts in schools; and will be used as a resource in the field of theatre arts education.