Florida Teacher Joseph Zembuch-Young Receives 2023 Excellence in Theatre Education Tony Award

by Hannah Renee Crawford

On June 11th, at the  76th annual Tony Awards, Joseph  Zembuch-Young was honored with receiving the 2023 Excellence in Theatre Education Award. He received this award for the tremendous example he has set by including American Sign Language (ASL) in his theatre productions.

"It is in the [theater] that we have an opportunity to give our students a platform to use that voice, regardless of who they are, where they come from, or what language they use to communicate,” Young says.

Young’s Work with American Sign Language and Foster  Families

For the past 20 years, Young has taught at the South Plantation High School in Florida since  2004. He oversees the theatre department, which has approximately 150 students. With almost zero budget for his program, Young did not let that stop him from including all students that came through his school. This would include students who were deaf, hard of hearing, on the spectrum, and the blind.

Young truly takes the meaning of theatre being all-inclusive to a whole new level. Young has inspired hundreds of students and thousands of families through his two-decade run by including every single student in the beauty of theatre, no matter who they are.

Every year, Joseph Young puts on two productions: one full-length musical and one full-length play, both in voice and American Sign Language. He also encourages his students to be conversant in ASL as well.

When asked why he does an ASL performance, Young  responds  that it is about “actually doing  theater for the deaf rather than simply making theater accessible to the deaf.” His advocacy for the deaf and hard of hearing just goes to show that theatre truly is for everyone.

Outside of school, Young and his husband Michael live up to the example they have set publicly by privately fostering over 35 abused and underprivileged kids over the years in their own home.  This surely has impacted Young and how he has learned to make everyone feel accepted. He has carried this passion into the theatre by offering free admission to all performances for foster families.

Nomination for Tony Award

When his nomination was announced, in correlation with the Tony Awards,  Carnegie Mellon  University President  Farnam Jahanian happily stated, "Jason Zembuch Young is an extraordinary educator who has had tremendous positive impact on the lives of his students, using theatre to open their worlds and let more people in. CMU is proud to present this award in  recognition of his remarkable achievements.”

While Young was shocked to hear of this nomination, so many people he knew were not surprised! He received a flood of support from his county school district, his students, and the theatrical community. Their pride came not only from the point of view of one of their own being nominated for such an honor but to see Young being recognized once again.

Young was also awarded the Barnes and Noble 2020 Teacher of the Year Award and earned an honorable mention at the 2019 Tony Awards. But, this year in 2023 was his time to step into the spotlight and to receive full recognition worldwide for the work that he has done and is continuing to do.

Humbled to receive this nomination,  Young responds, “I think that more young deaf people that see deaf actors know that they can actually be deaf actors…More kids that come to a  production that are blind and they hear about the fact that somebody on the stage is as blind as  they are, it makes it attainable.”

Receiving the Award

This award came with a $10,000 grant for Young and his students to benefit from. Aside from this grant, the students will also receive a visiting master class that CMU drama professors will instruct.

On the evening of June 11th at the Tony Awards, Young had the opportunity to interview about the work he had accomplished on the fly. He reiterated that, unlike any other subject in school,  theatre is an all-inclusive department. Everyone has a role in theatre, and we each depend on each other to fulfill that role.

“This is a powerful motivator for kids,” Joseph Young says. Because when kids feel included,  wanted, and needed, they have a desire to succeed at what they are doing. And, after all, isn’t that what theatre education is all about?

Watch Young’s Tonys Interview Below!