DRAMA DEPARTMENT

LIGHTS

CAMERA

ACTION!

The stage is set for a successful school year in both the arts and academics!

THE HOUSE LIGHTS ARE DIM AND THE STAGE LIGHTS ARE UP!

The Drama Program

The main focus here at Lake Forest is building the foundation for our students in communication, speech, projection and love for theater.  Mr. Collins believes in the power of improvisation and thinking quickly.  It is Mr. Collin’s goal to build self esteem and confidence in the children of Lake Forest through theatre arts that will be the foundation of their success in any field they choose to be in.

Meet our Drama Instructor

Mr. Jason Collins is a certified drama teacher in Duval county and is thrilled to have the chance to teach and help guide the children of Lake Forest Elementary school.  Mr. Collins has been involved in theatre since high school. He received his Bachelors Degree in Theatre and Dramatic Arts from Ferrum College, in Ferrum, Virginia. 

His studies at Ferrum included an important concentration in children’s theatre which strongly influenced his career path. Mr. Collins was trained by some of the most well esteemed professors in the field. 

Mr. Collins studied under Aurand Harris who wrote The Orphan Train and Androcles and the Lion, Dr. Nellie McCaslin professor of Theatre at NYU and Dr. R. Rex Stephenson professor of theatre arts at Ferrum as well as, director of the longest running touring children’s theatre troupes in America, The Jack Tale Players.

Mr.Collins has built his career of teaching children’s theatre by performing in some of the most respected children’s theatre troupes in America. Mr. Collins resume includes working as an actor and as an in-class workshop teacher for companies such as C.L.I.M.B. (creative learning ideas for mind and body) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The C.L.I.M.B.  theatre company’s mission is to help build awareness of social issues to the children and young adults who live in the inner city on Minneapolis. Mr. Collins has also worked for Merry-Go-Round Playhouse in Auburn New York, where he helped workshop in the classroom and on the stage, important literature for grades K-12. ,and the Shakesperience theatre company in Waterbury, Connecticut, which brought Shakespeare into the classroom, as well as summer performances for free to the public.

Mr.Collins also believes in doing his part to build Jacksonville into a vibrant arts community by volunteering his time to help bring theatrical performances to the people of northeast Florida.. He is an actor and director for the community theatre companies of Players By The Sea and Theatre Jacksonville.  He has also adjudicated for the Duval County Thespians Festival each year for up and coming playwrights and helps at the Cummer Museum.

Living is the art of loving. Loving is the art of caring. Caring is the art of sharing. Sharing is the art of living.
If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.
  -  Booker T. Washington

PARENT INVOLVEMENT

Parents of Lake Forest are always welcome to volunteer to help around the Arts areas: Costume Room coordination, Show production support, and class room participation.

Please contact the school office if you would like to help us out in any of these areas – extra hands and expertise would be greatly appreciated.