Lights! Camera! Dalfonzo!

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The fierce passion for theater arts and performance takes form in Wakeland’s lead theater teacher Jonette Dalfonzo. Dalfonzo has been passionate about the performing arts since she was a child. She would join every play and as many theater classes as she was allowed to take. 

Dalfonzo lived in New York, but she soon realized she did not want to live there anymore and went to school again to be a teacher at 25. She started teaching at 28 and finally came to Wakeland in 2017, where she has been teaching for five years. Her favorite Wakeland Theater productions have been Bob: A Life in Five Acts (2020) and the most recent one, Curtains (2022).  

“The students are the ones that take ownership and build a family with each other,” Dalfonzo said. “It’s the atmosphere I always dreamed of creating.”

Junior Winston Jefferson is involved in theater classes and school productions. 

“Mrs. Dalfonzo pushes me to be a better actor, and she teaches me new skills that help me gain confidence in myself,” Jefferson said.  

For people that are hesitant to try theater, Dalfonzo encourages them to give it a shot. “Don’t stop because you think you can’t do it. There are enough people here that would appreciate you, and it’s a safe place to take chances,” Dalfonzo said.

Mrs. Dalfonzo thinks that theater can be influential for everyone because “it helps you think on your feet, and create things at the moment while having confidence in yourself.”

Theater has allowed her to learn about numerous things in the world that otherwise, she would never know. 

“It opens your eyes to different possibilities,” she said. 

On a more personal level, Dalfonzo said that art, theater, and performance feed her soul.

She believes that one of the most enjoyable parts of performing arts is “the day to day antics of everyone involved in theater. There are plenty of stories I want to share and probably more that I should.”