Welcome to PEAK Backstage!
- Ms. A
- Jul 19
- 5 min read
Updated: Sep 26
Table of Contents:
🎭 Welcome to Peak Backstage
If you’re an after-school professional, educator, or parent trying to do meaningful work with limited time, budget, and support—you’ve found your place.
Whether you’re starting a drama club, searching for ways to engage students, or raising a child who’s creative— performing, writing, or production—Peak Backstage is for you.
Here, you’ll find resources, encouragement, and a community (the Peak Backstage Crew) that helps you thrive—not just survive.
🌟 Meet Your Guide
Hi, I’m Jessica—Miss. Apple to my students.
I’m the founder of Peak Theatre Arts and the brains behind Peak Backstage. For over 20 years, I’ve worn many hats: actress, writer, producer, director, teaching artist, after-school leader, camp director, and—my favorite—community arts educator.
I know what it’s like to create magic with no budget, no stage, and no blueprint. I also know how deeply the arts can transform kids when we put their voices, cultures, and stories at the center.
That’s why I built PEAK Backstage: to make theatre accessible, culturally grounded, and easy to implement—anywhere.
🎬 Why Peak Backstage Exists
I started teaching drama in an after-school program back in 2013. There was no curriculum. No materials. No stage. No blueprint.
I was a working actress with years of theatre experience—but no training in teaching, no idea how to adapt what I knew for an OST setting, and no guide to help me build a drama program that reflected my students and my community.
I thought—no problem. I’ll just look something up. Surely, I can find resources online. Right?
Instead, I found bits and pieces—rigid curricula that didn’t fit my students, plays that assumed I had a stage and a lighting board (I didn’t), and lesson plans written for classrooms that looked nothing like the one I walked into each day.
I needed something flexible. Something rooted in our kids, our spaces, our stories.
So, I started building it myself.
Not all at once. Just one scene, one class, one breakthrough at a time.
I created exactly what I needed:
✨ Lesson plans that worked in flexible, high-energy environments
✨ Culturally Relevant scenes and stories that reflected the kids in front of me
✨ Strategies for teaching drama without a stage, a budget, or a formal arts background
And now, over a decade later, Peak Backstage is the collection of everything I created and learned along the way. It’s the resource I was looking for back then, but couldn’t find.
The result? A powerful toolkit for OST educators, teaching artists, and parents who want their children to grow through the arts. Peak Backstage is your toolkit.
🛠 What You’ll Find Here
Peak Backstage is packed with real-world tools designed for out-of-school time spaces and community stages—no fancy equipment required.
Here’s what’s inside:
🎭 Ready-to-go lesson plans that save time, reduce overwhelm, and work in high-energy, out-of-school-time environments that are aligned with the Visual and Performing Arts Standards as well as Social Emotional Learning.
🌍 Culturally grounded plays and scenes so students see themselves and their stories on the page
🧩 Classroom strategies tailored for after-school settings, where structure is looser, attention is a moving target, and flexibility is key
🎪 Tips to build your drama club—even on a shoestring budget, with no stage, no storage closet, and no extra staff
🎤 Plays written with minimal sets and props so the focus stays on student voice, imagination, and storytelling—because sometimes, all you need is a mic, a spotlight, and a brave young artist ready to speak
🎬 Directing strategies that don’t rely on fancy tech—you’ll learn how to stage powerful performances that center creativity over costumes and community over spectacle
❤️ Encouragement, perspective, and a whole lot of heart from someone who’s been where you are and knows that this work, while challenging, is always worth it
👨👩👧👦 For Parents, Too
Peak Backstage isn’t only for educators. If you’re a parent, this is a space to support your child’s creativity—whether they dream of being center stage, prefer writing stories, or are curious about what it means to be a stage manager, designer, or director.
Here, you’ll find:
🎟 Theatre basics explained—so you can understand the process and language, even if theatre is new to you
🎭 Tips to support your child’s journey—from trying out acting to exploring behind-the-scenes roles
🧠 Research-backed insights into how the arts build confidence, communication, and leadership
🗣 Advocacy tools to help bring theatre and creativity into your child’s school
☀️ Information on summer camps and classes—so your child can stay inspired and connected year-round.
Whether your child already loves performing or is just beginning to discover what creativity means to them, PEAK Backstage gives them space to explore, grow, and belong.
🎭 Our Belief
Drama is more than performance. It’s a powerful tool for:
Creative Expression
Community-building
Liberation
I believe the arts should be accessible, affirming, and grounded in the cultures and identities of the students we serve.
🎉 Join the Peak Backstage Crew
When you subscribe to our monthly newsletter Peak Backstage, you’ll get:
🎁 Free monthly drama lessons & activities — designed for after-school and OST programs, adaptable for families at home
🎭 Student-centered resources that save time and spark creativity
🌍 Inclusive strategies that help every child feel seen and valued
⭐ First dibs on exclusive offers — early access to camps, discounted products, and limited-time freebies
❤️ Encouragement & perspective from a community arts educator and mom who understands both the after-school world and the joys (and challenges) of finding meaningful activities for kids
✨ Subscribe today and join the Peak Backstage Crew — your all-access pass to fresh ideas, engaging lessons, and the encouragement you need to make theatre joyful, inclusive, and accessible.
Peak Backstage Disclaimer
The content shared on PEAK Backstage is for informational and educational purposes only. While I draw from my experience as a teaching artist, parent, and arts educator, nothing here should be considered professional legal, medical, psychological, or financial advice. Every child, classroom, and community is different please use your own judgment and consult appropriate professionals before applying any of the ideas or strategies discussed here. By using this site, you accept that you are responsible for any outcomes that result from your choices based on the information provided. I do my best to share what’s worked for me and the communities I serve but as with all things in teaching and parenting, there’s no one-size-fits-all. Thank you for all you do!
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