T.O.Y.

"I wrote T.O.Y. as a love letter to teachers. Even though Tallahassee and the district make it harder each year, we never give up. Teachers keep on keeping on, trying their best to educate young minds and to make life bearable in an unbearable world. As one former student told me years ago, “Being in your class was the best time of my life.” I, as well as so many other public school teachers in this state, try to make it the best time in every student’s life. And that’s what we should be celebrating, and that’s what I want my play T.O.Y. to reflect." - Peter Nason (Playwright of T.O.Y.)

T.O.Y. stands for "Teacher of The Year". At it's core, T.O.Y. highlights the prejudices and manipulation that teachers in Florida experience on a daily basis over what they can and cannot teach in their own classrooms. The story is written based on personal accounts that our playwright, Peter Nason, has experienced in his nearly 40 years of teaching. Our director, Chris Cavazza, is a former student of Nason’s and in the creation of this play, the two have shared a deeply personal connection over the way school systems are being run nowadays not just in Florida, but all over the country. The purpose of T.O.Y. is show that even the most beloved in the school systems are not spared to the injustice that takes place. We are here to ask the question: what are we going to do about this?

Cast (NY Run)
Chris Jaymes - Mr. Proctor
Chris Cavazza - Sub
Zachary Cain - The Hatchet
Anika Meeusen - Ms. Simmons
Hannah Lawson - Assistant Principle
Jonathan Timpanelli - Mr. Dolens
Dana Mauro - Mrs. Buckley
Alysia Rodriguez - Tiffany Smith
 

**T.O.Y. had it's debut staged reading at The Reverie Room on April 4th and 5th, 2026. It is set to go up at The Tampa Fringe Festival this June.