After winning a Tony Award, Freddie Hendricks wants to take teaching to 'another level'

Caption

Freddie Hendricks, a middle school theater teacher in the metro Atlanta area town of Ellenwood, received a special Tony Award honoring educators in 2026.

Credit: Carnegie Mellon University/Facebook

Freddie Hendricks has accumulated an impressive resume in his nearly half century in the arts and entertainment industry. He's an accomplished actor, singer, writer, director, and producer. Twice he was honored with a Distinguished Teacher of America Award by President Bill Clinton. And now we can add that he's a Tony Award winner. Last weekend, Hendricks was honored with the Tony Award for Excellence in Teaching. He spoke with GPB's Peter Biello.

Peter Biello: What would you say is the approach to teaching that earned you not just this Tony Award, but multiple accolades throughout the years? 

Freddie Hendricks: Well, I think the key to that is honesty, love, as much passion as you can give to the kids, to your students. Acceptance. When you're free and you give all of those things, it allows them to be free like that, especially in theater, because theater teaches so much. My hope is that my teaching changes their lives the way theater has changed mine. 

Peter Biello: How has it changed yours? 

Freddie Hendricks: It just made me a, a better person. It makes me understand focus. When I was younger, I had no idea what focus was. I didn't know what I had to focus on. I didn't know. Even when I went to college. I went see my first play, The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams. This was fall quarter, my first weekend on campus. And it just blew my mind. I was like: "I finally found my people. This is what I need to do." So the next— Maybe if that was on the Friday, that Monday I went and changed my major from sociology to speech and theater arts, a minor in musical theater and I never looked back after that.

Peter Biello: So when you saw The Glass Menagerie, did you want to act? Did you want direct? Or did you just want to jump into theater whatever role might be available to you? 

Freddie Hendricks: I just wanted to be a part of whatever that was, whatever made them that free to get up there in front of a theater full of people and express themselves and take on different characters and to live in it, you know what I mean? Because I had never seen live theater before in my life, and it seemed so real to me. It was just like, "Oh wow, look at this." I had heard of Tennessee Williams before, but I don't think I had ever heard of The Glass Menagerie, but it just changed my life to the point as to where when I — my last year at Tri-Cities, high school for the visual and performing arts in East Point — I directed that show and it was extremely successful and it brought back so many great memories. Because I had always told myself, I was like, "When I become a director, I'm gonna direct The Glass Menagerie because it changed my life." And I finally did. 

Peter Biello: You mentioned that you brought love and passion to your teaching. And I think a lot of us have had teachers who I guess we could describe as having love and passion for the job that they did. And it manifested, at least in my experience, with teachers who were willing to stay late with me and work on the stuff that I was really struggling with. How did that love and passion manifest for you, for your students? 

Freddie Hendricks: One thing, what I did, what love made me do, was accept who they were. Whatever they gave me, I accepted that, you know? Because they're all different. And as a teacher, what I've learned is that I have to hone in to each and every one of my students and find out their needs. Because all the students need something different. And at first, I didn't know that. And I think that's what makes teaching so challenging. Because, well, at least for me, because I try to relate to each and every one of my kids. Yeah, man, teaching, that's my calling. I think everybody should try to find what it is specifically that they're called to do on Earth. And I think that's what I'm called to on Earth, and I have a Tony to prove it. 

Peter Biello: You teach at Utopian Academy for the Arts in Ellenwood, southeast of Atlanta. 

Freddie Hendricks: Yes. Yes.

Peter Biello: You could probably teach anywhere you wanted to. Why choose to teach at Utopian Academy? 

Freddie Hendricks: Well, one of my kids who I taught founded all of those schools. I think there's like four locations, four charter school locations in the Atlanta metropolitan area. And when I found out he was there, I said, "Yes, let's do this." Because I was so proud of him, man. Just think: One your kids that you've taught started all of these four or five schools and then asked you to come and teach. I'm like, I couldn't turn that down. 

Peter Biello: As part of the Tony Award, your school gets $10,000, if I'm understanding correctly. Do you have an idea of how the school might use that money? 

Freddie Hendricks: I think the school goes to my department, to the theater arts department, and what I want to do is just expose them to more things, more field trips, better sets for whatever productions we do, better costumes, props, everything. I just want to take everything to another level, because last year was quite wonderful. I really wasn't surprised that it came ,that last year came out so well, but I wanted I want to be better. Not "want to," it will be better this year because of the Tonys, I'm sure 

Peter Biello: The students will also receive a visiting master class taught by Carnegie Mellon drama professors. So what can you tell us about that experience? Do you know anything about it yet? 

Freddie Hendricks: Not too much, I just know what's happening. And from what I heard from this past, last year's winner of the Tony for Excellence in Theater Education, that the kids are gonna love it. 

Peter Biello: What are your students saying to you about the Tony award? 

Freddie Hendricks: It's, "Hey man, that is so wild," because they didn't know what a Tony Award was. I had to say like, "Do you know what the Grammy is?" "Yeah, music, yeah." "This is kind of the same thing, but it's in my field. It's in like, it's in theater. Have you ever heard of Broadway?" "I think so. Is that where they do plays?" I said, "Absolutely, absolutely." So everything is a learning experience for my kids right now. And I have so much to share with them when I get back to school, y'know, about the wonderful time I had in New York, about the people that I've met. Most importantly is about the things that I learned about myself. 

Peter Biello: What have you learned about yourself? 

Freddie Hendricks: That I'm great. 

Peter Biello: Say more about that. 

Freddie Hendricks: I'm great — well, I always thought that I was great, but I never let, you know, admitted it to myself. Yeah, I do this, yeah. "Oh Freddie, you're good, you great, man!" "Uhh, uh, thank you. Eh." Now I'm like, "Yes, thank you. I am. I am." And I wanna, hopefully I can influence everybody else around me to believe that they are, too. Because like I tell everybody, this is like my, I guess I might say mantra, I don't know. But it's like, I think we're all born great. I think that's the gift, we're born great and when we find our passion and we begin to practice that and live in it, we're living in our greatness. So now the only thing to do is to be greater and that's where I am in my life. I just wanna be greater. I just want to give more. I just wanted to love more and I just to appreciate everything around me. So, yeah, so that's the kinda — so that's the kinda cat I am. You know, I just appreciate everything, man. Like being here with you today, I was looking so forward to this, you know? I just think as human beings, we need to embrace every single thing, every moment, because life is so beautiful.