COLUMBUS, Ohio — Perhaps you’ve seen her seen her perform on stage as Mary Poppins at the Palace Theatre in Columbus, but Upper Arlington Resident Kristen Rusen is also the 2021 Music and Arts Teacher of the Year.
During the pandemic, she found a niche outside the classroom — sharing her passion with kids through virtual classes, with Outschool’s online learning platform.
“When a lot of the arts were canceled for the foreseeable future, I took a lot of the classes I was already teaching in person and I put them essentially on Zoom. What just started as a way to bring the arts just to students here in my community has now stretched over the last year and a half to teaching end all over the world,” said Rusen.
Teaching valuable skills like singing, acting, script reading and auditioning for students age 5 through 18.
Rusen teaches around 50 students a week and has been able to double her monthly classroom teaching salary in just four months.
She said it hasn’t really hit her yet the impact of reaching kids across the globe.
“One common thing I’ve noticed with these kids is their love for the arts and I think because of the pandemic they realize I really did love this, I have missed this. They realize this is the way I’m going to fill this void,” said Rusen.
And as for her future, well Rusen would love to make a triumphant return to the stage and she’ll be patient for whenever that day comes.
“The reason I chose to move to Columbus after working on seven different cruise ships was obviously the diverse theatre scene. I am very excited to perform and not only that, have the Broadway Art series return to both the Ohio and Palace Theatre,” said Rusen.
Rusen’s husband, Christopher, is also a performer and production manager at Columbus Children’s Theatre.
The Broadway Art Series begins in November at the Ohio and Palace theaters.
