Teaching Artists for School Residencies (Contract)

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is currently accepting applications from experienced teaching artists specializing in music, theater, visual arts, and/or dance to add to its Arts Teach roster as freelance contractors.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts is one of the nation’s most respected multi-disciplinary cultural institutions. As Orange County’s largest non-profit arts organization, it is committed to supporting artistic excellence, offering unsurpassed experiences, and engaging the entire community in new and exciting ways through the unique power of live performance and a diverse array of inspiring arts-based education and community engagement programs.

The Center offers education programs designed to engage and inspire people of all ages—particularly young people—while increasing access to the arts as part of a well-rounded and equitable education. Arts Teach offers one of the nation’s preeminent and most robust rosters of teaching artists, providing the highest-quality arts assemblies, workshops, and residencies that celebrate cultural diversity, make connections to core curriculum, and aid students in the development of 21st century skills. By presenting programs at affordable rates to schools and community organizations throughout Orange County and Southern California, it is our ambition to serve every corner of our community. As we strive to excel in all avenues of arts education, our partnerships with local teaching artists make such excellence possible.

We are seeking Teaching Artists who are:: masters of their craft (music, theater, visual arts, and/or dance), experienced in working with students of all levels (particularly elementary and middle school levels), and prepared to impart their knowledge over the course of several weeks in residency format. A residency is a series of hands-on workshops that typically have multiple class sessions per day, one day per week, for several weeks.

If this sounds like you, we invite you to apply.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Develop and present standards-based educational arts residencies to elementary-level students that synthesize and stimulate creative practices.
• Present arts and cultural programs in an authentic manner and have a thorough knowledge of their history, background, and context.
• Address the learning needs of diverse student populations.
• Represent Segerstrom Center for the Arts in a positive and professional manner; work collaboratively with Arts Teach staff and amongst multiple school community stakeholders, including classroom teachers, parents, administration, and donors.

Skills, Qualifications, Requirements:

• Demonstrate in-depth knowledge, expertise, and passion for a performing art.
• Ability to work collaboratively in a school environment and with various school community constituents.
• Possess strong English communication and interpersonal skills.
• Exhibit a warm, respectful, and trustworthy rapport with students and teachers.
• Availability during school hours with advance notice and flexibility in scheduling
• Adaptable to a wide range of teaching conditions.
• Have reliable and consistent means of communication and transportation.
• Pass a federal-level background check via live scan fingerprinting.
• Teaching Artists must routinely lift, push, pull, or carry art supplies, equipment, instruments, and classroom furniture weighing up to 40 lbs. Must also bend, twist, reach, stand, and/or sit for long periods of time
• Two years of experience performing and/or teaching in a public-school environment (preferred).
• Experience with English Language Learners and students with special needs (preferred).

Hours/Compensation: Freelance work not guaranteed; time commitment based on school requests, with compensation determined by the number of sessions booked.

How to apply:
Please send a current resume and sample lesson plan to artsteach@scfta.org.  The sample can be in the form of a written outline for a 6-8 week residency AND/OR a link to a video clip of you teaching or describing your lesson plan. Use the email subject line “Residency Artist Application.”