“These are things that kids will remember forever.”įor the last six years, Finley has been the curriculum coordinator in the SAU office, where she is responsible for overseeing the curriculum district-wide, and also overseeing the teacher evaluations, professional development programs and the teacher mentorship program. “The opportunities and memories that it makes for kids are huge,” Finley said. For many students, it was their first time leaving New Hampshire. Whether they continue to do anything in theater or not, the skills that they learn will last them forever.”īefore the pandemic, Finley would organize annual theater class trips to places like New York City, Washington D.C., Toronto and Virginia Beach to view Broadway shows, dinner theater and theme park performances, as a way of exposing the students to different career options in the performing arts. “I literally can watch kids grow from the time that they’re in elementary school until they graduate. “The self-confidence that I see build in kids is huge,” Finley said. Finley, who went to college for theater and originally wanted to be a professional actor, started teaching due to practicality and stayed with it when she realized the impact she could have. But I actually learned that if I gave myself a little time to breathe, it was nice to have.”įinley started at Franklin High School in 1994 as an English and theater teacher, where she created the curriculum for two drama classes and founded the extracurricular theater program she still runs today. “COVID was the first time in like 35 years that I actually had to stop everything and it was very challenging for me. I’m really good at time management and multitasking,” Finley said. The first time she took a real break from the theater was when the pandemic hit in 2020, and it’s made her realize that it may be time to finally start slowing down and decluttering some of the costumes which she jokingly says has her attic on the verge of collapse. The figurine collection, arranged in boxes on shelves above the desk in her office, includes Dorothy and Toto from the time Franklin schools staged “The Wiz” in 2013, the Cat in the Hat from “Seussical” in 2018, Ariel from “The Little Mermaid” in 2017 and Elsa from “Frozen Jr.” in 2019, but they represent just a fraction of the shows Finley has staged at the high school and through the local community troupe.Īveraging nine shows a year for the past 28 years, Finley doesn’t have much time to rest. Every time curriculum coordinator Jule Finley directs a new theatrical production with the Franklin School District, she buys a new Funko pop figurine that represents the show.
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