NYU graduate, bilingual, and a dedicated drama teacher. Mr. Zavala brings joy and passion to his classes and theatre productions, inspiring his students to succeed in their creative potentials as actors, playwrights, dramaturges, designers, and directors. He believes theatre is a powerful and influential medium that can transcend beyond entertainment and be used as an educational tool, raising awareness about important life lessons, cultural and political issues. Mr. Zavala has directed over 20 theatre productions and musicals, and he oversees the Annual One-Acts Festival. He is a trained actor, singer, dancer, and improviser, and he has performed in community, regional, and college theatre. He has worked as a teaching artist and director in New York City, and he has taught at the college level for two years at the University of Texas at Austin, and for three years at Kennesaw State University in Georgia. He has also used drama therapy for patients in the Arts and Mental Health Program at the Napa State Hospital. Mr. Zavala is in his thirteenth year at Lick-Wilmerding.
His students have been accepted to reputable college theatre programs, art conservatory programs, and Ivy League universities specializing in the performing arts, including Yale School of Drama, The Julliard School, Columbia University, Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, Ithaca College, The University of Michigan-Department of Musical Theatre, UCLA School of Theatre/School of Film and Television, Stanford University-Theatre and Performance Studies, Carnegie-Mellon, and The University of Southern California, among others.