Lisa Clancy
Teaching Creative Arts with Heart and Soul
story by KAREN SNYDER photos by PAUL NURNBERG
Now in her third decade of teaching, Lisa Clancy, creative arts teacher at Riverview Charter School in Port Royal, readily recalls the first time that music and the arts touched her life. As a youngster, she had attended a seventh-grade school performance of Oklahoma with her family, and “that was it! I was just so excited about the performers on stage. I knew it was something I wanted to do.”
Yet, it’s with even greater emotion that Lisa recalls another pivotal moment that set her on her journey of sharing the power of the arts with her students. “I was sitting in my middle school English class when we were reading the script to The Diary of Anne Frank. I wasn’t familiar with the story, nor did I have a great interest in history. Well, my teacher, Mr. Russo, called on me to read the part of Anne Frank. As I read it aloud, I realized the depth of her story and how it had to be told. I was overcome with emotion. It was another ‘lightbulb moment’ for me. I realized the power of storytelling, and I thought to myself that I have to do this.”
Lisa jokes that “performance” must run in her family’s veins referring to her father who was a weekend musician, a grandfather who was part of a barbershop quartet, and another grandfather who was a saxophonist. A recent ancestry study and conversations with family even revealed great-grandparents who performed in Vaudeville.
There’s no doubt that Lisa’s life experiences as a young woman and performer molded her into the teacher she is today. Growing up on Long Island, NY, she recalls many experiences that she says, “were really hidden blessings that we just didn’t realize or understand at that time.” Whether it was attending Broadway plays on weekends, being an ambassador or guide to Patti LuPone (before Evita fame) when she visited her high school, playing her piccolo for Donny Osmond’s opening night of Little Johnny Jones on Broadway, or performing as part of her high school band at the DC Cherry Blossom Festival and the Jets’ half-time show, to Lisa, it was “just what kids did.”
Lisa fulfilled her desire to perform on stage being part of many high school productions, including the lead as Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and other performances, including The Music Man and Agatha Christie’s murder mystery The Mousetrap.
After graduating from Brigham Young University in 1987 with a degree in Family Science, she continued her love of the arts performing in local regional theater, including one of her favorite roles as Liesl von Trapp in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music. Following her college graduation, Lisa earned a teaching certificate in elementary education from Dowling College in NY and would later earn a master’s degree in elementary education from Cambridge College in Boston. She began her life in Beaufort in 1989 after marrying her husband, Matt, a Marine officer stationed at Parris Island. Today, he serves as the City of Beaufort’s Chief of Police.
Lisa served in many educational roles at local Beaufort schools, including Laurel Bay #1, Sea Island Presbyterian Day School, and Mossy Oaks Elementary, where she created her first creative arts class as part of a Title 1 program at the school. “It was wonderful! The children made music, performed in plays, read poetry, and created artwork,” she recalls.
Eventually, Lisa found her way to Riverview Charter School when it opened in fall 2009 and was invited to begin a creative arts program at the school. “The school’s leadership understood the many benefits of theater and performance for children,” says Lisa, who proudly displays these attributes on the wall outside her classroom. “There are many things that the theater arts teach children, but perhaps the most important is empathy,” she notes, recalling her feelings when she read the part of Anne Frank in high school. Yet, according to Lisa, there are many, many more benefits to children, including development of imagination, focus, self-confidence, perseverance, collaboration, cooperation, and communication.
Without a doubt, her passion for performance is what forms the foundation of her teaching practice today. However, those who know Lisa might argue that it’s also her heart and compassion for others that influence the concepts she teaches to 160 first and second graders at the school and approximately 50 students in two middle school classes. Together with her colleague Creative Arts teacher Elizabeth Sanders, Lisa co-directs a grade-level musical play each year.
“I want students to understand that they can use their voice to inspire, to entertain, or to educate others,” she says, adding that these play performances are meant to help students not only understand their curricular studies but teach valuable life lessons and empathy.”
“We’ve done many plays over the years that address issues such as grit and determination. Productions such as Go West tell the story of the gold miners and pioneers or those that share a message of acceptance of others such as a third-grade musical called The Unity Tree, where cats and dogs learn about their differences and how they could live peacefully together.
“For example, I asked the children in Go West, ‘What do you think it must have been like to travel across the country into the unknown?’ I wanted them to put themselves in the place of facing a challenge or opportunity, and, most of all, learn the value of taking a risk. Theater lets the lessons we learn about history come off the pages of a book and helps children to experience them.”
Most importantly, adds Lisa, participation in the arts helps students to problem solve. Whether students are having difficulty learning their speaking parts, songs, or choreography, or perhaps encountering a problem within their school day, Lisa uses it as a “teachable moment.”
She chuckles, “I remember one day when second graders came to my class after having gone to lunch and forgotten their money to purchase a fruit slushie on a special day in the cafeteria. They were very upset that they had forgotten the money needed to buy one. They couldn’t concentrate on my lesson after their disappointment, so we decided to use our class time together to solve the problem.”
“I asked them what they could do to remember to bring in money the next time there was a special fruit slushie day. The answer? The children decided to work together for the next 40 minutes of class, producing a video commercial that aired on the school’s daily announcements as a reminder to all students to bring their money on Slushie Day!”Other times, explains Lisa, students will solve problems by brainstorming ways they might improve their performances when rehearsing. “Instead of ‘practice makes perfect,’ I often say, ‘practice makes permanent,’ so that children have a better understanding of the creative process.”
Pointing to the many former Riverview students who have gone on to pursue degrees and careers in the arts as well as current students who frequently participate in productions by the Beaufort Children’s Theater at USCB Center for the Arts, Lisa emphatically believes it’s evidence of the school’s dedication to arts education.
Lisa’s work on behalf of students and others extends far beyond the walls of the school. A graduate of the Master Naturalist and Leadership Beaufort programs, and a devout member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she lives her life in service to others. “I have a special quote from Saint Augustine that is meaningful to me,” she reveals. “It says: ‘Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those who, by the accidents of time, or place, or circumstances, are brought into closer connection to you,’ and that’s what I try to focus my life around.”
A mother to two sons ages 21 and 23, Lisa will quickly say that family is the most important thing to her. Beyond her role as a mother, Lisa is also known to be a “connector” or “conduit” of people through her involvement in many aspects of our community. If there is a need someone has or something needs to happen in the community, chances are that Lisa can get it done through her network of neighbors, friends, and coworkers. Whether it’s performing in or supporting CAPA’s “Dancing with Our Stars” fundraiser, leading and organizing the packing of 2,500 meals a month through Beaufort’s Backpack Buddies, or facilitating disaster relief for recent victims of the Nixville tornado, Lisa lives her truth that “service is love and love is service.”
“We live in such a beautiful and loving community,” says Lisa. “I’m so grateful for all the support the arts receive here in Beaufort, and I’m thankful every day that we live in such a nurturing environment.”
