Hills Appoints New Arts Supervisor
Judith Ann Mulder has been named supervisor of Watchung Hills Regional High School’s Arts Department . She was appointed to fill the vacancy created when George Snook, long-time supervisor of “Related Arts,” retired last June. Her newly-reorganized department includes the areas of visual arts, media arts, theatre, dance and music.
Having come to Watchung Hills from the Teaneck public school system, where she was “on the road” daily, circulating among all of that community’s K-12 schools as fine- and performing arts supervisor, Mulder says it will be good to settle down in one location—especially one that offers so many opportunities for growth. The new department head also feels that Hills is in harmony with her own feelings about the arts’ place in the curriculum. “Arts education is human education, a reflection of our humanity and culture,” she says.
Hills’ arts curriculum includes a multitude of varied courses, such as: fine arts, crafts, ceramics, jewelry, photography, sculpture, TV production, choral music, dance, music theory, music appreciation, concert band, orchestra, string music— quite a “mixed bag.” That should pose no problem, however, as the new supervisor has “a working knowledge” of the whole area of arts, as both an educator/supervisor and as a practitioner of the arts herself. She plays the flute; has worked in clay; designs costumes and sets; has directed theatrical productions. Her studies as an English major and her affinity for drama ultimately led her to Montclair State University, from which she received a master’s degree in Theatre. She’s taught theatre, film and TV as well as English locally, as a member of the English Department of Governor Livingston Regional High School, Berkeley Heights.
Mulder’s hope is to make Hills’ arts program even more comprehensive, especially in the areas of dance and the theater. It should not be too difficult to attract students to these two areas of learning, she believes, because (using the well-known expression): “If you build it, they will come!” The newly-completed additions to the high school will, indeed, include new facilities, such as art studios, a music suite with areas for band, orchestra and choral classes, along with numerous student practice rooms, and an expanded TV studio. Most exciting of all: the new theatre. These additions should draw students in greater numbers than previously to the performing arts.
Mulder is especially excited about being so closely involved with the high school’s new theater, which she calls “a jewel.” The 1,000-seat facility has state –of- the- art technical abilities “to rival those of any house on Broadway,” says Mulder. The large stage is also equipped with a specially designed acoustical wall to enhance musical performances. Back-stage dressing rooms and a scene shop are also included in the complex.
The new performing arts space/theatre will be integral to students’ experience in theatre education, Mulder says.The theatre will eventually also serve as a magnet for professional troupes, further enriching students (as well as the community) and enhancing their “human education.”
A lifelong New Jerseyan, Mulder lives in New Providence with her husband and their four young people, aged 11, 15, 17, and 18. Together they enjoy concert- and museum-going. In her spare time, Mulder enjoys performing “household handyman jobs” and sewing— which are not all that far removed from her professional passion, stagecraft.
by Eleanor Mathews