When people walk into Stephanie Nixdorf’s classroom, they’ll notice that her whole room is dedicated to theatre, from the walls of musical soundtracks to the books of sheet music stacked on the piano. 

The newest addition to the theatre department family, Ms. Nixdorf, had been an arts educator for 30 years, teaching in the Palm Beach County School District since 2010 as a theatre teacher. After being at Suncoast Community High School and then moving to Boca Raton High School, she said she was “craving the arts magnet school” atmosphere, and when she got a phone call about the position in May of last year, she thought it was “the perfect time” to make that transition.

Ever since second grade, Ms. Nixdorf had been fascinated by the world of theatre, even having played the piano and xylophone for one of her school plays. 

“I watched my friends… get to do ‘The Sound of Music,’ and I wanted to do it so badly,” Ms. Nixdorf said. “A couple of years later, I got to be the lead in a play, and once that happened, I knew I wanted to be on stage. It clicked.” 

For Ms. Nixdorf, the hardest part of teaching theatre is the rejection kids face when they don’t get the part they want.

“What makes it so challenging is trying to get them to a place where it’ll create new opportunities for them, where they can become resilient,” Ms. Nixdorf said. “(You need to) make sure that they understand that you bounce back and just try again, go out for the next show, don’t give up and keep working.”

Ms. Nixdorf noted big differences between teaching at an arts school and at a regular school. She said a whole department dedicated to theatre “lifts a lot of weight off her shoulders,” allowing her to “be with the kids and not be swamped by paperwork.”  

“Being a member of a department is very new for me,” Ms. Nixdorf said. “In all my previous jobs, I’m the only person in the department…I have to wear every hat, make all the decisions (and) do all the fundraising and the budgeting.” 

Ms. Nixdorf and the theatre department are currently working on the musical “The Drowsy Chaperone.” Ms. Nixdorf organized auditions and will be directing the show, which debuts Nov. 1.

“My plans are to put together a funny, well done musical that people are going to love,” Ms. Nixdorf said. (‘The Drowsy Chaperone’) is a hilarious show, and it’s a piece of meta theatre where it spends the whole time making fun of itself, which is really fun and different.”

 Ms. Nixdorf’s passion for theatre has carried over into her teaching, and she has big plans for the department moving forward into the 2025 school year. 

“I love the challenge of a bare stage with nothing built, no lights, no sound, no costumes, and that first rehearsal where you see all of the faces in the room, and you know that in 10 to 12 weeks, you’re gonna create something really beautiful together,” Ms. Nixdorf said.