Patel named Alabama Theatre Teacher of the Year
Amy Patel is Alabama Theatre Teacher of the Year. (CONTRIBUTED)
MADISON – Amy Patel, drama teacher at James Clemens High School, is the reigning Alabama Theatre Teacher of the Year.
Patel’s peers voted for her at the Walter J. Trumbauer Drama Festival at Troy University on Dec. 7. Theatre teachers from across Alabama nominated their choices.
“I was touched, really. It meant a lot that other teachers — my colleagues, my friends — thought that much of what I do,” Patel said. Patel was doubly honored because her high school drama teacher attended the awards ceremony.
After receiving the honor, Patel believes her colleagues remember her perseverance and loyalty at Butler “with fantastic students but not much support or many resources. I had to be creative, resourceful and build the program from the inside out. I’m doing the same thing at James Clemens.”
“I also work hard to build a community … a family, really … among my students. I push and challenge them, but I work to create a safe place for them,” Patel said.
At James Clemens, growth and ‘culture’ for theater excites her. “I’m thankful and can’t imagine teaching anywhere else,” she said.
Patel commended part-time drama teacher Mason Overcash. “Mason jumps into everything with both feet,” she said. They partner with Daniel Whitt and JetsPress students to “weave film and theatre together.”
At the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Patel earned a bachelor’s degree and then a master’s degree in directing at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. After teaching at Butler High School for 14 years, Patel took a year’s sabbatical to visit theatre teachers in this area, Colorado and Connecticut.
Husband Sandy Patel owns Patel Technologies, a data management corporation. Their sons Connery, 7, and Kieran, 8, attend Columbia Elementary School.
Passionate about reading, Patel has challenged herself to read 52 books this year, as she did in 2012. Her sons’ activities in basketball, soccer and Cub Scouts keep her busy. “And theatre, of course. I try to be onstage once every year or so.”
