I will be sending two copies of this letter via USPS today in Support of the Tennessee Arts Academy

Governor Bill Lee and Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds,

As an educator from Washington State, I have spent more than two decades teaching students, actors, and teachers around the country. During that time, I have had the opportunity to teach at festivals, conferences, and workshops of all kinds.

This summer, I had the privilege of traveling to Tennessee to teach improvised Shakespeare and movement to middle and high school drama teachers at the Tennessee Arts Academy.

I came to Tennessee expecting simply to teach.

Instead, I left deeply inspired.

Without hesitation, I can say that the Tennessee Arts Academy is one of the finest celebrations of arts education I have ever experienced and one of the most rewarding weeks of my professional career.

The Tennessee Arts Academy is far more than continuing education—it is a celebration of the people who dedicate their lives to teaching the arts.

Arts teachers regularly give everything they have. They direct productions, build sets, sew costumes, rehearse after school and on weekends, and often spend their own money on the paint, lumber, fabric, instruments, props, and costumes that make their students’ work possible. They invest countless hours so their students can shine.

For one week each summer, Tennessee gives something back to them.

Throughout the week, I watched teachers who began my workshop convinced they could never improvise Shakespeare leave confidently creating scenes, taking creative risks, laughing with one another, and eagerly talking about how they would bring these experiences back to their own students.

That is the true impact of the Tennessee Arts Academy.

The lessons, confidence, and inspiration gained during a single week ripple outward into classrooms across your state, ultimately reaching thousands of Tennessee students.

Just as importantly, Frank Bluestein and his remarkable team have created an environment where teachers feel genuinely appreciated. Every detail of the Academy communicates one simple but powerful message:

Your work matters.

As someone who has spent his career teaching in another part of the country, I can honestly say that Tennessee has created something every state should aspire to. Many states talk about supporting teachers.

Tennessee demonstrates it.

Arts teachers are often the first people to recognize creativity in a child. They encourage students to step onto a stage, pick up a paintbrush, dance, sing, write, and discover their own voice. If we fail to support arts education, we risk losing future actors, musicians, dancers, writers, designers, and visual artists before they ever discover what they are capable of becoming.

I sincerely hope Tennessee will continue to champion and support the Tennessee Arts Academy for decades to come. From my perspective as a guest in your state, it represents one of the wisest investments Tennessee can make—not only in its teachers, but in the generations of students whose lives those teachers will continue to shape.

Thank you for your leadership, for recognizing the value of arts education, and for ensuring that this extraordinary program continues to flourish.

P.S. I hope my home state of Washington is paying attention. Every state in our nation should have an Arts Academy like yours.

Alan Hawkins

Improviser, Educator, and Author

Seattle, Washington