Teacher Profile: Ms. Abbate
Ms. Abbate received a BFA in Fine Arts in 1988 from Stockton University in southern New Jersey. After marrying her husband, Charlie, a fellow actor, she went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts in Acting at Northern Illinois University in 1996. She studied for two years at the Gately/Poole Acitng Studio in NYC. Ms. Abbate also studied both Stanislavsky and the Meisner techniques of acting, and has been trained in several movement/body awareness techniques including Williamson, Laban, and Feldenkrais. Upon graduation, Ms. Abbate and her husband headed west to Los Angeles where she appeared in several television commercials including a spot for Pepsi. After the birth of her first child, the family moved back east to NJ to be closer to family. It was then that she took on her most exciting role...the role of Mom to 3 biological children, and two adopted children from Russia. The family of seven moved to Pennsylvania, and finally Florida in 2012. Four of their five children have attended Mount Dora Christian Academy.
Ms. Abbate has been the Theatre Director at MDCA for since 2013. Since then, she has been directing the Secondary Play for grades 6-12 in the Fall, and the Elementary Play for grades K-5 in the Spring. The Secondary Play alternates each year between a musical and a straight play, with the sets often being designed by secondary students in the Art Department. The Elementary play is always a musical and is done in coordination with the Elementary Music Department. Past performances include:
- 2021 The Pied Piper
- 2019 The Enchantment of Beauty and the Beast
- 2018 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
- 2017 Guppy Getaway
- 2016 The Real Story of Little Red Riding Hood
- 2015 The Emperor's New Clothes
- 2014 Alice in Wonderland
After several years as the Theatre Director, Ms. Abbate joined the staff as the Secondary Drama teacher in 2017.
The Theatre Department offers a variety of classes for both Middle and High school students including:
- Introduction to Theatre Arts
- Theatre Around the World
- Theatre 1
- Theatre 2
- Theatre 3 Honors
- Speech
- Theatre, Cinema, and Film
- Storytelling
"I love directing and teaching, because they both try to accomplish the same thing-getting a group of people together with different skills and talents, and guiding them toward a creative product. Performance and production are fun and they teach incredible life skills! I want other people to see and experience that whether they're on stage, back stage, or in the audience."
Say hello to Ms. Abbate the next time you see her!