Spring Musical Ends, Planning for Next Year Begins for Educators

The Cast of “In the Heights” at Miami Country Day School. (Photo by Open i Studio Photography)

AT Education Monthly

May 18, 2026 Cristina Pla-Guzman Leave a comment

What’s Next? Something Revealing!

For many educators, the close of a spring musical doesn’t ease the pressure; there’s still next year to plan!

By Cristina Pla-Guzman

You may notice a new voice for this column! For the next few months, Cristina Pla-Guzman will be taking the reigns of AT Education Monthly as Allison Considine prepares to welcome a baby!

You know what they say, April showers bring May chaos!

The end of the year for any school is a whirlwind of end-of-the-year performances, spring musicals, dance shows, and music productions as we march toward graduation. It was only two weeks ago that the curtains closed on my school’s production of In the Heights ; a week later, we produced the seniors’ one-person show festival, and this week my students are preparing for the Adrienne Arsht Center’s inaugural high school award showcase, as one student has moved into the next round of the Jimmy’s nominations.

But the chaos doesn’t stop there; next week there are Thespian auditions! I know I am not alone, as every theatre teacher I know is racing against the clock. How does May seem like the shortest month with the longest hours?

One thing every May has in common: the question of what’s next. While the cast and crew spilled out of the dressing rooms into a lobby of adoring parents waiting with enough flowers to fill a funeral home, there was not a hug and a congratulations that wasn’t met with, “Great show, hard to beat. So what’s the next show?” It felt like a chorus bellowing, “Soooo….what next?”

The pressure of announcing the next season isn’t just something professional theatres have to worry about; in high school, it’s a performance all in itself. Show reveals are feeling more and more like gender reveals! You’ve probably watched a few on social media. It’s definitely a guilty pleasure, I must admit.

The pressure to pick the right shows is not for the faint of heart. As a 20-plus-year veteran, I can tell you that it does not get any easier. Like most theatre teachers, I want to pick a great show that challenges my students, honors their talent, and is well-suited for our community. Yet much of this pressure is self-inflicted, as I have definitely fallen for the hype of the Great Reveal. Last year it was like the release of a new Taylor Swift album, dropping Easter eggs for weeks until the cast and crew sat down in the theatre to a video created with multiple teachers (“No Me Diga”) as we announced In the Heights . The prior year, I dressed in all pink, with a burn book in tow, as we announced Mean Girls . (And yes, I dyed my hair pink—bright pink! Think troll doll pink.) I am of the “Go big or go home” mindset.

Kidding aside, choosing the next season is serious business. This is when every teacher in our district, the largest in the state, is deep in planning next season. I am a proud member of the Educational Theatre Association, and with Florida State Thespians, we are District 8 (Miami-Dade), Troupe 4043, Miami Country Day School.  And all of District 8 is abuzz: excited as the year’s performances are coming to a close, but also a little stressed, trying to choose the right show for their students.

Teacher Brandon Urrutia from Mater Lakes Academy told me a successful season answers the questions: “Did they learn? Did they have fun? Are they still listening to the album a month later or quoting random bits and pieces from it? As an educator, what we do only works if the students can see how they grew from the beginning of the process.”

Jose Acosta from iMater Middle/High School shares, “The challenge lies in the balancing act. I have to navigate the nuances of school-appropriate content while meticulously aligning our production dates with the academic calendar.”

Leo Arteche from Miami Arts Charter School acknowledges, “At the end of the day, I don’t want my students to pour everything they have into a show and perform it for a half-empty house. So that tension is always there when I’m picking a season. At the end of the day, they’re not performing for me – that’s what class is for, I guess.”

Monica Vélez from Homestead Senior High School reflects, “The most challenging part is balancing what I dream of doing artistically with what is realistic for my students, my resources, my budget, and my school community.”

Michael Lacayo from Academy for Innovative Education Charter School emphasizes, “The ‘right fit’ for a show is not always the most popular title or the one the students immediately want to do. It is the show that is going to challenge them the most and push them to grow as performers and people.”

As the school year comes to a close, one thing is for sure: If you need proof that theatre is alive and well, look at your local high school. There in the wings of the stage, directing the final performance of the year, or perhaps creating the next season’s show reveal, is a teacher who is helping mold the next generation of the art form we all know and love. That director also needs a nap!

✏️ Around the Web ✏️

Need some new classroom resources or ideas? Check out this learning center from the Educational Theatre Association . Plus, here’s some great professional development .

In addition to show selection, preparing students for the audition process has been on my mind, from building confidence, to calming the body and mind, to reframing rejection. This is a great read to consider what you can do to help students learn through this process.

And on the other side of a show is your school’s community engagement. It’s never too early to consider how a show can be incorporated into curricula or school life . I can assure you from personal experience that the extra effort will only enrich your students’ experience and understanding of theatre’s power to unite.

Some podcasts that have been inspiring me lately as a writer/artist/educator are: Critical Minded , The Curiosity Shop by Brené Brown and Adam Grant (specifically “The Emotion Few Talk About, But Many Feel” ), and The Mel Robbins (specifically “How to Eliminate Self-Doubt Forever & Build Unshakeable Confidence” ).

And around social media, here are some cool videos about acting!

- A word from Colman Domingo - Advice from Viola Davis - A brief acting masterclass from the show Friends - Tom Hanks and Tom Holland on a powerful acting technique - Helena Bonham Carter on pressure and the “ terrifying ” nature of acting - And another note from Viola Davis on passion and persistence

💫 On Social Media 💫

Theatre teachers: What makes a show feel like the right fit for your students? And what does a successful season look like for you?

AT Readers Respond:

- Jim Howard : For my program (suburban HS outside Boston) I’m finding shows with a lot of heart, mostly lighthearted, and a bit of joy. A successful season is one where we are proud of the work done and it was reasonably hard to achieve it. The books are balanced (enough) to keep us in a good place for next year. - Andrew Geha : The answer changes every year. Because I have a different group of students every year. And a different community every year. Who live in a different world every year. The right season is the one that serves the students who show up and tells stories the community will respond to. It’s not rocket science. But it -may- be magic. - Steve Wood : I’m a small program. 1. Do I realistically have the cast (with an understudy or swing to spare), even if that means actors will be stretched, 2. Did my students have a variety of opportunities to grow and get stretched and did we do ok-to-good in ticket sales? - Brittany Jo : We love powerful stories. Success for us looks like someone saying, “I still think about that show/moment/thing the actor did.” months later. - Samantha Ingram : We look at budget, amount of roles available, and is this something that is going to challenge our students but not be out of their reach.

Read more responses  here .

🍎 For Teachers 🍎

With the closing of the school year, you know what that means: Summer! For me, summer means finding ways to continue learning and growing as an artist. I am super excited about attending  The Miami Immersive Summit , June 7th, bringing together immersive creators from across the country, including Masquerade, Third Rail Projects, David Byrne’s Theatre of the Mind, Disney Live Entertainment, and more ( full speaker lineup here ). The Summit is extending a discount code to  American Theatre  readers/teaching colleagues who may benefit from this program with the code  SUMMIT30 for 30 percent off tickets.  Hope to see you there!

📰 From the Archives 📰

Tomorrow’s Tamoras and Titanias: How to Heal the High School Space

Check out this 2024 article  exploring how high school theatre spaces can become more compassionate, collaborative, and student-centered environments that nurture both artistry and belonging.

What’s Next? Something Revealing!

_Originally reported by [American Theatre](https://www.americantheatre.org/2026/05/18/whats-next-something-revealing/)._