An NYU graduate and a dedicated educator. Mr. Zavala brings joy and passion to his classes and theatre productions, inspiring students to succeed in their creative potentials as actors, playwrights, designers and directors. He believes theatre is a powerful and influential medium that can transcend beyond entertainment and be used as an education and social justice tool. Mr. Zavala has directed over 25 theatre productions and musicals, oversees a student-run annual One-Acts Festival at Lick-Wilmerding. He is also a trained actor, singer, dancer, and he has performed in community, regional, and college theatre. Additionally, Mr. Zavala has worked as a teaching artist and director in New York City and taught at the college level at the University of Texas at Austin and at Kennesaw State University in Georgia. He has used drama therapy to patients in the Arts and Mental Health Program at the Napa State Hospital, and he directed the premier bilingual children's production, El Canto del Roble/Song of the Oak, written by Roy Conboy; helping launch The Children's Bilingual Theatre in Georgia. Mr. Zavala is in his 15th year at Lick-Wilmerding.
His students have been accepted to reputable college theatre programs, art conservatories, as well as Ivy League universities specializing in the performing arts.