Wendy Wasserstein Project Representative

Wendy Wasserstein Project Representative

Organization: Theatre Development Fund (TDF)

Website: www.tdf.org

Location: New York, NY

Position Type: Part Time, Seasonal (Sept-June)

About Theatre Development Fund

Theatre Development Fund, Inc. (“TDF”), is dedicated to sharing the power of the performing arts with everyone. As one of the only arts service organizations whose membership is the audience, our mission is to remove the financial, physical, and invisible barriers to access to the performing arts. Our vision will be complete when every New Yorker (and visitor to NYC) feels ownership of and belonging in the live performing arts.

The Wendy Wasserstein Project sits within the TDF Programs Department, which serves students, veterans, autistic and neurodivergent audiences, D/deaf and blind theatregoers, patrons with mobility needs and over 150 community partners across the five boroughs. Every program is designed through an Arts in Health lens. For our students, that means using theatre to reduce isolation, build belonging and create safe, stigma-free spaces.

About the Position

TDF is looking for a part-time, seasonal Wendy Wasserstein Project Representative to join our Programs Department. Reporting to the Associate Director of Education, each Representative manages four WWP groups — eight students, a participating classroom teacher and one or two theatre-professional mentors per group — and is the connective tissue between the school, the mentors, the students and TDF. Founded in 1998 by playwright Wendy Wasserstein, the Wendy Wasserstein Project (WWP) is TDF’s flagship theatre mentorship program for New York City public high school students. Students attend six live theatre or dance performances across the school year, each followed by a facilitated discussion and journal writing. The program serves 240 students in 30 public high schools with 39 mentors each year.

As we embark on an ambitious new chapter in our programs, we are also looking for someone who will help us grow and expand to new heights with fresh ideas and directives.

What You’ll Do

Key Responsibilities:

• Serve as the main point of contact among the school, teacher, mentors, students and the TDF Programs Department for your four assigned groups.

• Organize and attend six theatre outings for each of your four groups (24 total) starting in November and ending in June.

• Support post-performance discussions that center student voices, encouraging students to see themselves in the work and creating a space where students, teachers, mentors and Representatives build belonging together.

• Keep records for your groups — attendance, outing documentation, journals and reflections, program photos — and submit them for the WWP archive, along with support for evaluation activities such as student surveys.

• Learn and help improve the systems that run WWP, including new digital tools and workflows, and support the team in rolling changes out across the program.

Schedule:

• Representatives commit to seasonal work September through June in alignment with the New York City Department of Education calendar. School vacations and holidays are aligned with this work.

• Wednesday availability is essential. The September retreat and luncheon (8 hours), ten monthly Representative meetings the second week of the month (11:30 am–12:30 pm), and most theatre outings (1:00–7:00 pm, occasionally later) all fall on Wednesdays. Also required: two 2-hour New Representative Trainings in September; three student orientations held in a single week in October, Monday through Wednesday, 2:30–6:30 pm; twenty-four theatre outings, six for each of four groups, from October through June, with a limited number on evenings or weekends; and a graduation ceremony on a Monday in June, late afternoon into evening (4 hours).

You are a great fit if…

• Experience working with high school students, in any setting.

• Background in theatre, theatre education or arts administration.

• Prior experience as a program coordinator, teaching artist or classroom teacher.

• You have strong facilitation and communication skills and can guide a substantive discussion and manage group dynamics.

• You are exceptionally organized and detail-oriented, and comfortable juggling many moving parts and deadlines across four groups at once.

• You know and enjoy New York City theatre, and you can travel to Manhattan theatres and to public schools across the five boroughs.

• You are available on Wednesdays, which should be held open from late morning through the evening, and on the required program dates described above. There will be an additional 2–3 hours of administrative work per week, plus occasional weekend or evening outings.

• You are proficient with Google Workspace (Drive, Docs, Sheets, Forms) and Zoom.

• You can be fingerprinted and cleared through the New York City Department of Education.

• Familiarity with the NYC Department of Education school environment.

Compensation and Benefits

This is a part time seasonal position running from September to June. Base compensation is $12,000 for the September–June service year, paid semi-monthly, plus a transit stipend of $132 per month for the duration of the service year.

Additional compensation is awarded for the WWP Representative Retreat and Luncheon, New Representative Training sessions, professional development sessions, and covering outings on behalf of another Representative; stipend amounts are provided at offer.

Pre-approved program-related expenses (post-performance discussion space rental, student meals at outings) are covered by TDF, as are Representatives' tickets for all program outings.

To Apply:

Please send your resume and a cover letter telling us what you hope to bring to this role to [email protected]. You may also use this email address if you require any accessibility accommodation during the interview process.

Start Date: September 2026

TDF provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination.