All's Well That Ends Well: LP Theatre Teacher Wins Shakespeare Award
- Elena Cable
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
When he was in high school, theatre instructor Rosh Raines participated in Pittsburgh Public Theater’s annual Shakespeare monologue and scene contest, winning a few awards.
Now, years later, Pittsburgh Public Theater has honored him again--this time, with an award that recognizes his dedication to the Shakespeare competition.
Last month, Mr. Raines received the Rob Zellers Award, given each year to the teacher who demonstrates outstanding commitment to the arts.
“Every teacher kind of has their down moments, even if you don't think about it,” Mr. Raines admitted. “‘Am I good at this? Can I teach?’ And it's nice to have a little thing to say that someone saw that I was doing a nice job.”
As a high school actor competing in the Shakespeare competition, Mr. Raines won “a couple honorable mentions, and I made it to the finals for two pieces my senior year.”
Even after he stopped competing as a high schooler, he was invited back by Rob Zellers himself – a local playwright who gave his name to this award – to judge the Shakespeare competition. Mr. Raines would also be sent out to different schools to help the students with their pieces for the competition.
In fact, Mr. Raines also found his current job here at Lincoln Park through Zellers and the Shakespeare competition.
Zellers “would send me out to schools to help them with their Shakespeare,” explained Mr. Raines. One of those schools was Lincoln Park.
“He introduced me to Mr. Schaller”--Tom Schaller, the director of Lincoln Park’s Theatre Department-- “and I got my job here in 2012.”
Ever since then, Mr. Raines has gone to the competition with a group of his students and various other theatre teachers, and under his guidance, Lincoln Park has won a number of awards.
This year, Lincoln Park had winners in the Upper Division Scene competition (Lily Fontaine and Jackson Conforti), as well as finalists (Carson Bruce) and honorable mentions (Faith Cheek and Tristan Heavner) in the Upper Division Monologue category. Lincoln Park also scored finalists in the Upper Division Scene competition (Aryanna Nielsen and Mason Wallace).
Even though the Rob Zellers award isn't one you apply for, Mr. Raines watched other teachers win this award over the years, and wondered if one day he would win, too.
His dedication to his students and their art finally paid off.
“Over the years, I have had the privilege of witnessing firsthand the incredible connections you’ve built with your students and the meaningful impact you continue to have on their lives,” wrote Jenny Malarkey, Pittsburgh Public Theater’s director of education, wrote in an email to Mr. Raines informing him of the award.
“Your dedication to bringing arts opportunities into the classroom and beyond truly exemplifies exceptional leadership in arts education.”
Mr. Raines explained that he could easily share this award with Lincoln Park’s other theatre teachers, because they all work hard and take the students to this competition together.
“Honestly I can share this with so many people in our department, cause it's not just me taking them to the Shakespeare competition, you know. We all help out in little ways.”
Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School is a tuition-free public charter school located in Midland, PA, and open to all Pennsylvania families. Students grades 7-12 are bused from nearly 90 different school districts to study the arts concentration of their choice: theatre, writing and publishing, media arts, health science and the arts, music, dance, and pre-law and the arts.
For more information, visit lppacs.org or contact: admissions@lppacs.org