Theater teacher Thompson Jaffe joins Riverside’s cultural arts department
By Sydney Ginsberg
After a year teaching ELA at Explorers Middle School in Raleigh, Thomson Jaffe has made the jump to RHS to teach theater.
Jaffe looks forward to building students’ confidence in many different ways. While theater arts are often considered to be centered around acting skills, confidence often is a larger theme than all.
“I do not look for every student to be an incredible actor,” she said. “Theater is about, at the end of the day, more than anything, confidence and building that confidence.”
Even though theater is an extracurricular activity, it is a class as well, and learning and growth is a priority for Jaffe and theater students.
“I look for every student to grow. And I really think we’re able to achieve that, even in just a couple of weeks here,” she said.
This growth happens through teaching, but necessary facilities make this much easier. Jaffe said Riverside’s theater department is lucky to have some of these special opportunities.
“We have a really nice scene shop which, in my experience, most schools do not,” she said.
Along with her goals, she has a very go-with-the-flow attitude.
“I try not to anticipate too many challenges,” she said. “When they happen, they happen, and you just gotta deal with it.”
Outside of teaching, Jaffe spends time with family, like her cat and her baby nephew.
“Those are kind of my favorite things to do,” she said.
