Introducing...Arts Educators Save the World

Teaching through Emotions

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Introducing...Arts Educators Save the World

In which you can hear Broadway's Mufasa (L. Steven Taylor) talk about the amazing Disney Musicals in Schools program

Betsy Burris

Aug 07, 2025

Transcript

But first: Introducing the TTE podcast as a winner of the 2025 Women Who Podcast Award!!

We here at TTE are thrilled at this honor!! Especially since Season 3 is about to drop (September 4th) and we’re excited about all the great new content we’ll be sharing throughout the school year.

And now for today’s terrific episode:

I have always pooh-poohed Disney, mostly because of its wildly unrealistic (and interchangeable) animated princesses. But this podcast episode has, amazingly, caused me to reconsider.

That’s because of an inspiring conversation from the Arts Educators Save the World podcast that we’re sharing today. It features L. Steven Taylor, who plays Mufasa in Broadway’s The Lion King, and Dr. Lisa Mitchell, Director of Education for Disney Theatricals. They discuss the profound impact of the Disney Musicals in Schools program.

They share

how Disney Musicals in Schools trains teachers to put on a full-fledged (free) Disney musical
how students respond to the program, including performing for Broadway actors!
online resources available to support musical theater in schools
future visions for the Disney Musicals in Schools initiative

The whole point of the Arts Educators Save the World podcast is to give listeners a peek into the profound impact mentors — that is, teachers — can have on students. In every episode, interviewers Erica, Alek, and Douglas find a student-mentor pair and interview them. On top of being interesting, each episode gives us all a chance to hear what teachers so rarely hear but so fulsomely deserve: how deeply influential they have been on students who went on to succeed in their chosen professions. (In this case, the arts.)

Give it a listen!

For my non-teachers out there: Hear how creative experiences can build confidence and collaboration among young people, far beyond academic subjects. And how easy and rewarding it is for adults (like teachers) to learn new tricks, like how to mount and direct a Disney musical!