Sixth Edition Marquis Who’s Who INSIGHT 15 INSIGHT MARQUIS WHO′S WHO SIXTH EDITION SUMMER 2024 a journal or anywhere else that a university professor might have to do. What are two key behaviors/personality traits that allow you to be effective in your role? Some people would tell you it's because I'm stubborn – I’ll work on something until it's done. I worked extremely long hours until the projects were done. I'm also a detailed person, which comes with that stubbornness. Production, once within the process, is the absolute most important thing. You don’t leave kids on the stage hanging. You don’t allow other important things to get in the way of getting the production because those kids are on stage on their own and need the best support you can give them. What is the most important issue/challenge you are dealing with in your industry? Being creative on demand. As a graduate student, I did 13 shows per semester. That's an insane load, so I swore I'd never do that again. For the 40 years I was with Mesa Community College, I directed a show, costumed, worked on the makeup, and worked on the production every semester. Sometimes, it was light; sometimes, it was the set. What that requires is about a five-week rehearsal period, but before that, you have to come up with the design aspects and make sure they're integrated. So, I had to design not just the costumes but also the makeup to integrate it with the costumes. And those would have to integrate with lights, sets and sounds. Sometimes, I did almost all those things because it was my production, in the sense that I was the director, and therefore, I oversaw everything. But you have to be able to come up with a creative design for that. When you're working on a show, you do that within a very short period. You have to finish the conception of it within that five-week period you have before the show goes on stage. That creativity for every show every time is a challenge, and I did hundreds of them. What excites you the most about your industry? Life as a teacher; I enjoy it because I enjoy the kids. I got into theater as a teacher when I was about 26. I've always enjoyed face-to-face classes. There's no way I wanted to teach online because I like the interaction between the students and myself, and the students and each other. It didn't matter whether it was an acting class or a theater history class. I just enjoyed them. I watched people get creative about how they respond. You don't have to just write a paper about theater; you could also create something in the classroom and present it instead of a paper. I had piano students who created the soundtrack for a particular play we read. It was fascinating to watch students with a tremendous amount of change and growth when they leave. Many of them went to the theater, but not all of them. Many of them have their children now in the theater. Some of them went into film. It's always fascinating to watch people grow and maintain some contacts.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTQ5NDA2