About Me

Bio:

John Asselta has been directing high school and community theater for 43 years, 27 of those at SJR. During his tenure, the SJR Performing Arts Program has earned multiple awards including Best High School Musical (Metro), Educational Impact (Paper Mill), and Best Overall High School Comedy/Drama (Montclair University), has been nationally recognized by USA Today, and featured on FOX TV several times. In addition to producing the school musical, John produces the annual drama and oversees the chorus and band concerts. In 2012, John was inducted into the St. Joseph Regional HS Hall of Fame. A graduate of Siena College (’73), John was a religion teacher and guidance counselor at Xaverian High School (Brooklyn) and St. Francis Prep (Queens) in the 1970’s. After working for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, coordinating the NY portion of the Labor Day Telethon, John became the Director of Meeting and Travel Services for KPMG where he worked for 23 years.  John’s two sons are SJR alumni (Ryan ‘94, Jaimie ‘97).

Hometown:

Ramsey, NJ

Teaching Philosophy:

“Theater skills are skills for life.” Not everyone goes on to Broadway but the lessons learned through theater (communication, articulation, expressing oneself, teamwork, etc.) are essential and useful in all aspects of life.

Fun Fact:

I am a 4-time NYC Marathon participant and I’ve climbed Machu Picchu in Peru.

When I’m not as SJR you’ll find me:

Travelling or spending time with my wife, children, and grandchildren.

Ask me about:

My 3 week safari in Africa

I like to work at SJR because:

I am passionate about theater. I enjoy working with teenagers and I want to impact lives. Working at SJR has allowed all this to happen.