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How Theatre Prepares You for Any Job

Patty Craft — Thu, 18 Apr 2024 15:15:08 +0000

Whichever adult(s) in your world mentor you on how to succeed in life, chances are, at least one has said something like, “You can’t make a living in theatre!” As frustrating as it is to hear, let’s assume they mean well. They want you to be able to eventually support yourself in a comfortable lifestyle, and they fear a career in the arts is just too unpredictable — even though that may not actually be the case.

Let’s dispel the idea that reliable employment is only found outside the arts and remind our mentors and ourselves that fear isn’t always right.

The theatre skills you learn in school are vital to success in nearly every field of work, and when the time comes, you’ll find a way to pursue the arts out in the real world if it’s your true passion. Meanwhile, let’s do a refresher on the value of what you’re learning now.

5 Ways Your Theatre Skills Transition to the Workforce

The Bard must have seen into the future and discovered the current social media scene! Shakespeare’s line from As You Like It, “All the world’s a stage,” is embodied on social media every day. Now, you’re wise enough to know that the most effective social media feeds employ serious planning, staging, editing, and branding. Long gone is the notion that a person can simply hold up their smart phone, record themselves, and go viral with their clip!

Even beyond social media, successful entrepreneurs, teachers, doctors, lawyers, political leaders, and, yes, actors, use theatre skills daily. Not to mention there are plenty of theatre careers to consider and many ways that your theatre lessons can transfer to real-life roles. Case in point: Read our story of a self-proclaimed music kid who is now a successful sound designer.

So let’s explore the skills you already have that can help you land the perfect job.

1. Inspired public speaking can be learned.

First off, get your voice warmed up to do its job. Maybe this sounds silly, but warming up your vocal cords and preparing to enunciate so listeners can clearly hear your message is important for speakers as well as singers. Try these tongue-twisters for actors and have fun as you get ready to inspire.

Along with getting your body ready to speak, remember the power of pacing and emphasizing your words. You can partner up with another Thespian and experiment with this technique, taking turns speaking and listening. How does emphasizing too many words distract the listener? How does a slower or faster pace affect the message? Does it become more urgent if said quickly?

2. Clear communication matters everywhere.

Yes, we live in the age of text messaging and texting abbreviations abound. Maybe you’ve experienced miscommunications based on text messages that have left you laughing or crying.

Text messaging is often misinterpreted for several reasons. Perhaps the sender meant their words as a joke, for example, but the recipient couldn’t hear the laughter in their voice or see sender’s body language.

It may be trite and it’s true: An actor’s body is their instrument. The subtleties of facial expressions, hand gestures, vocal inflection, and even the direction in which an actor is speaking all tell part of the story. Try these exercises to improve your presence on stage or improve your general communication skills. You’ll find yourself giving new thought to how you walk, use your hands, and even how you use your facial expressions.

Investing in physical training is always worth the time and effort, especially when we remember how powerful our body is in communicating clearly.

3. Effective collaboration is vital to every show’s success.

We’ve all been part of a group assignment outside of theatre where some contribute more than others. And we’ve felt the resentment of having to carry other people’s loads for that assignment to succeed. Don’t be the one not contributing—you won’t learn anything from the experience, and you’ll be a burden to others in the group.

Theatre teaches collaboration intrinsically. Each member of the company—from the producer and director to all the cast members, technicians, and ushers—have a key job to do for the production to be successful. If even just one person’s job doesn’t get done, it affects the end result. Learning to understand your piece of the puzzle, own it, and execute it with commitment and authority while also leaving room for others to do the same is a valuable skill. Our directors are there to coach us when ideas abound or priorities collide, so learning to let go, readjust, and continue forward in a slightly new direction without derailing the process for everyone is also just as important in the real world as it is in the theatre.

4. Commitment to a collaborative effort includes everyone agreeing on the goal.

In theatre, one short scene in which a character’s greatest challenge is revealed can be the key to understanding their motives. Learning to work with others, whether in an acting scene or on the props crew, improves your value to a show.

When it comes to commitment, do what you say you’re going to do. For example, if you’re struggling to find a costume that’s on your list, speak up sooner rather than later. Maybe someone else on the crew knows exactly where to find that period piece of clothing.

Also, find the courage to say you can’t take on a particular assignment when you know it’s outside your ability or skill set. Perhaps offer to switch with someone who has the required skills. Saying “yes” when you know you can’t do what’s asked sets everyone up for failure. And the other person may have the desire to take on something else. Win/win!

5. Become more coachable and you’ll go far!

What does it mean to be coachable? There are a couple million results if you Google this query, but it comes down to a willingness to change. Yes, the willingness to set our egos aside and try new things that may (or may not) work. It’s an admission that your initial attempt might not be the best or only way to achieve a goal, and feeling safe enough to try a different approach that might not come as easily for you. Being adaptable to various viewpoints and experimenting to get the desired result is a highly transferable skill desired in almost every profession.

And it’s something you’re likely already doing with your castmates, director, or theatre teacher.

Being coachable means having a genuine curiosity about different techniques or beliefs. Communication coach John Millen has these six tips you can learn to be more coachable and ultimately more successful.

Success Beyond the High School Stage

Whether you’re taking on a leadership role and need to command attention on the “work stage,” are leveraging your years of script analysis to improve your written communication, or just working with new people and are looking to create healthy boundaries and collaboration, transferring the skills you’ve learned as a Thespian can go a long way toward helping you advance.

Patty Craft is a regular contributor to Dramatics.org.

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2022 Thespy Winner Nikki Wills

Natalie Clare — Tue, 27 Sep 2022 16:11:01 +0000

Nikki Wills earned the 2022 Thespy Award for stage management at the International Thespian Festival! Below, she tells us how she started her role as stage manager and what she’s planned next for her theatrical career.

Nikki Wills
Bishop Gorman Catholic High School
Troupe 4347 | Las Vegas, NV
Check Please: Take 2 by Jonathan Rand

What are your top 3 tips or advice about being involved in theatre?

The best pieces of advice I have ever received are:

“No advice is useless, some advice you use and benefit from, some advice is only useful because it showed you what not to do, or the advice shows you a third new solution.” No advice is useless, even when it seems as if it would make things worse. Trying something anyways can either prove your initial opinion wrong, or it can show you a third way — a blend of your way and the advice. Of course there are the off times where their advice really didn’t work for you, but even then you learned from it.
“Say yes to everything, you never know what’s waiting on the other side of the barrier you created for yourself.”
“Show others respect and they will respect you in return.”

Tell readers the most important steps you took to win the 2022 Thespy for Stage Management.

The most beneficial part of my process was my “burner copy” of my portfolio. For me this was a glittery pink binder that I swore was only a rough draft and that I would later completely re-make for my final copy. I tore pages up and scribbled things out with a sharpie, and by the end of mangling this tester binder, I knew exactly what I wanted my final product to look like, what I wanted it to contain, and how I wanted it to be designed.

How long have you been doing stage management?

This might be shocking, but I only started stage management less than a year ago. I’ve been in the performing arts for most of my life. However, I didn’t experiment with stage management or tech at all until recently. I sort of fell into it. I had just auditioned for a show and some of us were joking about how I loved the show so much I could direct it myself. The director overheard and offered me stage manager and assistant director, and I said yes! I fell in love and the rest is history.

Tell us a story about a major potential disaster you overcame as stage manager.

Our school always makes sure that the assistant stage manager (ASM) gets to call one of the shows. For this show, the ASM called two of the three spotlights suddenly went out mid-run. Specifically, one turned off on its own and the other started smoking, and due to safety concerns I made sure it was turned off immediately. Obviously, this could quickly become a lighting disaster. We hadn’t planned for this, as it had never happened before.

How I handled it is I asked the ASM to not call any of the spotlight cues in order to not confuse me or the last remaining spot operator. I then climbed the ladder to the last spot and used my knowledge of the show to call the spot based on importance. Sadly, the show couldn’t be perfect but I was able to make sure no actor was stuck in complete darkness.

Nikki Wills

What’s next in your theatre career?

This fall, I am attending Drexel University’s film and television program to continue my career in the arts. Film and theatre are two unique disciplines that often intersect — an example being how actors often act on stage and on camera, or in my case, a stage manager can also work towards being a film director. Theatre will always be a part of my life, and I intend to stage-manage shows through college. The film school I am attending only accepts 64 students every freshman class, which makes for a very small and tightly knit community. Because of this, I am pushed to create connections with artists in our community, which I hope I can also use to my advantage as I advance my stage management career.

What would you like to say that we didn’t ask you about?

In this position, I always get asked about where I find joy in this. And I honestly cannot blame anyone who hasn’t experienced it themselves for asking. An actor often finds joy from things such as the applause they get, or nurturing the character they created. A technical designer often finds joy in their creation — for some, that’s a set they enjoyed building, or a costume that the designer gets to watch be brought to life.

As a stage manager, I’ve always struggled to put it into simple words for it’s a little less of an obvious answer, for me at least. But after thinking on it, I’ve been able to pin it. The joy I find in this is, in part, all the little things: getting to pack a backpack and challenging myself to organize everything I could possibly ever need into it, all of my beloved sticky notes that I get to ball up after solving the issues written on it (p.s. I seriously make a massive ball for each production and see how big I can make it), or finding the best erasable pens.

Then there’s also the bigger things, such as when everything is going wrong and your heart is racing and all that time you spent memorizing the show is suddenly coming into play because unlike anyone else, you don’t need the scripts or the call sheets or the rosters anymore — you can just run with your brain and fix things in show time. Or that feeling after you have a perfect show, and everyone is just beaming with joy. And, of course, I can’t forget my guilty pleasures, such as letting the spot operators and orchestra manager go off-com early [and disconnect their headsets] to hop into the audience, helping usher people out so everyone else can get moving to close up the night and get to the after events I helped plan. Even after spending over an hour on those three sentences, I still feel as if I couldn’t do it justice because it’s such a different experience for everyone, and it’s something I encourage everyone to experience themselves and find their own points of joy within it.

View all of the 2022 Thespy Award winners, and get ready for ITF 2023! Watch for deadlines to be updated soon at itf.schooltheatre.org.

Natalie Clare is a freelance writer and regular contributor to Dramatics. Visit her work at nataliecwrites.com.

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Grand Designs

Linda Veneris — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 15:00:00 +0000

COSTUME DESIGNER and fashion historian Katie Kupferberg was first introduced to costume design as a member of Troupe 5924 at Dr. Michael Krop High School in Miami, Florida. “Everyone asks me ‘How did you get into this?’ and ‘How did you know you wanted to do this?’” Kupferberg explained. “It’s just one of those things where I found it in high school. I always knew, and I’ve never wanted to do anything else.”

Kupferberg received her undergraduate degree from Florida State University majoring in theatre with a focus in costume design in 2011. She continued her education at Parsons the New School of Design with a Master of Arts in 2014. Based out of New York City, she now works as a freelance costume designer, associate costume designer, and historian.

Photo courtesy of Katie Kupferberg.

“I see costume design as a really collaborative art form,” Kupferberg said. “I’ll meet with the director or the production team and have a conversation with them about how they see things versus how I see things, and how we can put that together.” She also emphasizes the importance of involving the actors in the costume design process. “I like to have conversations with the actors to see what their take on the character is. That’s a lot of me listening to what they have to say and getting their ideas about what they like and what they don’t like, because you want them to be happy.”

Kupferberg has worked on Broadway and Off-Broadway under Tony Award-winning designers, as well as in television and film. She has worked on the costume design team for several of the Marvel Netflix shows, including Iron Fist, Daredevil and The Defenders, and several other major network TV shows for CBS and ABC. Most recently, she was the assistant costume designer for the Thirty Something Else pilot.

What sparked your interest in theatre and costume design?
My interest in costume design started in high school. I went to a school with a magnet program in south Florida, and I was supposed to originally be in the fine arts program. But I made friends with the students in the theatre program, and naturally as a high school student I wanted to be where my friends were, so I volunteered to build sets for their production of Oklahoma! The head of the theatre magnet program took me under his wing and started showing me how to build sets and how to design and build costumes, and I transferred into the theatre program. Costume design was a way for me to combine my love of clothes and my love of art and drawing, so I pursued that throughout high school and continued with it through college. Then I entered the world of costume design when I moved to New York after completing my undergraduate degree. I was lucky enough to work under a Broadway costume designer as an intern and work my way up as an assistant, then I took a break to go to grad school and continued from there. So that’s where I’m at now – I’ve been working in the field for about nine years, and it’s been a fun journey.

In graduate school, you studied design history and art history. How does your interest in costume history influence your designs?
While I was in grad school and for a little bit of time after I graduated, I worked as an assistant collections manager at museums. My job was to take care of garments and fashion objects in the museum collection, so I got to see how a lot of things were made and constructed firsthand. While working in museums, I made sure to take photos of everything I saw. I sorted those photos by time period and gender, and now I have this giant binder that I go back to for all my design research that serves as a firsthand inspiration binder with the things I’ve seen. I think that looking at how people lived and what people wore is the best jumping off point for inspiration. Working in a museum gave me insight into the deeper part of design that I didn’t necessarily understand prior to that. It helped me to grow as a designer, and I’m really thankful for that experience.

You’ve worked both on Broadway and Off-Broadway, as well as working on the costume design team for several TV shows. How are those experiences similar and different?
Theatre and TV are extremely different. In theatre, you are working with a full play, and you know where it’s going, and it doesn’t change very often. Whereas in television, you get a script that’s constantly changing, and you’re always working one episode ahead. It’s a bit of a rush. You get to take more time with theatre, and you have more time to prep, and the hours are a little less crazy. But with TV it’s very fast-paced. There’s also less room for error in television because there are close-ups, and people are seeing the minute details of your costumes. With theatre, you’re working on a larger scale since somebody in the last seat of the balcony has to see a costume, and you have to convey the same message to them as you do to the person in the first row. I find that the theatre is more of a creative environment because the costumes are designed and then brought to a shop and are custom-made. With television you do a lot more shopping. Especially if you’re working on an action show, you’re buying duplicates for stunt doubles. If there’s any fake blood, mud or dirt involved, you have to buy multiples so that each take they have a fresh shirt to start with. So it’s a lot more shopping than in theatre. Unless it’s a period TV show, in theatre there’s a lot more creating.

When you look back on your high school experience, do you have any favorite Thespian memories?
I think my favorite part was going to the district and the state competitions. I got to see Thespian friends I didn’t normally get to see since they went to other schools and didn’t live close to me. Some of the friends I made at those competitions went to college with me, and some work with me now in New York City, so those friendships followed me all throughout my career and my life. Participating in competitions and learning how to present myself, present my designs, talk to people, take criticism — which is really important to learn — I really value my time doing that as a Thespian. At competitions we would talk about who’s going to get their Excellents and who’s going to get their Superiors, but at the end of the day it was about having that experience and the camaraderie of being a part of a theatre family. That is still something that I really value because when you work on a Broadway show or an Off-Broadway show, those people become your family. You’re with them for long hours, and oftentimes they’re the best friendships, because when you’re working really hard it’s nice to have people who have all of these things in common with you.

What advice would you give Thespians interested in pursuing a career like yours?
I would say to be patient and don’t let anything discourage you. Make sure you learn to take the criticism that you get. There’s always room to learn, so be open to learning from your peers, your bosses, and other designers. Stay humble. It’s important to know that you’re going to pay your dues — it’s just part of the process. And never take no for an answer because you never know what’s going to be on the other side of that door.

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Captain of Wow

Natalie Clare — Tue, 12 Jan 2021 15:45:33 +0000

THEATRES TODAY are creating digitally enhanced, live storytelling experiences that can rival blockbuster films. Luis Garcia, an International Thespian Society alum of Troupe 6640 at Osceola County (Fla.) School for the Arts, has been working at that crossroads of stage and screen his entire theatrical career. Garcia is an award-winning freelance lighting and video designer/programmer based in Kissimmee, Fla.

Photo of Luis Garcia by Tobin Buckley.

The theatre bug bit Garcia in seventh grade. Hoping to one day become a professional video editor, he enrolled in a school video production course taught by Randy Cochran. Cochran was also leading the school’s technical theatre team through The Little Prince. He invited Garcia to join the production as light board operator.

“I worked in many components of theatre, such as the scenery and costumes, but what ignited my passion was the responsibility of running the light board,” Garcia says. “It felt as if I was the captain of a spaceship with all the faders and buttons to use at my command. I loved every minute of it, and to this day, I can still vividly remember this process.”

Cochran played an instrumental role in shaping Garcia’s path toward a theatrical career. Cochran taught him it’s OK not to design through a traditional lens: Thinking outside the box, especially in the fast-developing field of technology, is critical for theatre artists and creative professionals — a lesson Garcia still applies as a working artist.

"Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood" at Collaborative Theatre Project. Lighting Design by Luis Garcia. Photo by Luis Garcia.

"Snow Queen" at Collaborative Theatre Project. Lighting Design by Luis Garcia. Photo by Mike Kunkel and courtesy of Luis Garcia.

"Peter Pan" at the Camelot Theatre. Lighting Design by Luis Garcia. Photo by Chelsea Fine and courtesy of Luis Garcia.

"Anna in the Tropics" at Second Stage Theatre (Stetson University). Lighting Design by Luis Garcia. Photo by AndYou Films and courtesy of Luis Garcia.

"Holiday Inn" at Athens Theatre. Lighting Design by Luis Garcia. Photo by Mike Kitaf and courtesy of Luis Garcia.

Garcia earned his high school diploma in technical theatre, pursued a B.A. from Stetson University, and has worked full time in theatre since graduating in 2017. He’s developed his artistic approach by going beyond the parameters of traditional theatre design.

“The visual aspect of theatre, when done properly, should create what I call the ‘wow’ moment. That ‘wow’ moment is when you can see the audience bridge that gap between reality and the world we are creating onstage,” Garcia explains. “It’s that sensation of activating the right side of their brain, and they enter into a creative zone. This is what drew me in and continues to inspire me to do this work.”

In just four years in the industry, Garcia has earned a number of accolades and honors as a designer: a Live Design’s 30 Under 30 honoree, a 2018 USITT Rising Star nominee, the 2017 Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Richard Hay Lighting Design Fellow, and a 2016 USITT Gateway Program recipient. For three seasons, he was the video technician/programmer at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and in 2018, he assisted lighting designer Alan C. Edwards on The Vineyard’s Harry Clarke — a production that earned the 2018 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lighting Design. Garcia is a member of IATSE Local 154, and he’s an active member of La Gente Network, which aims to increase representation of Latinx theatre artists through promotion of their creative work.

What project has given you the most pride thus far in your career?
I take pride in all my projects, but one that stands out is the Collaborative Theatre Project’s production of Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood. I was responsible for both the lighting and video design. This was an amazing opportunity for me to discover both my strengths and limitations, holding two design positions simultaneously.

Due to the comedic nature of the musical, I was able to create many elements, including creating random spotlights and a “circle of life” background in their Lion King spoof. This show helped me increase my confidence in my decision-making skills and identify a clear vision in the early stages of production.

What unique opportunities has La Gente Network given you as a member, and how do you envision the future of the network?
I am so thankful to be a member of La Gente Network. For most of my career, I did not see my ethnicity represented in the field of design. Now I see that I am not alone, and that has been so empowering. My ultimate goal has always been to mentor young Latinx designers because I wasn’t as fortunate to have this opportunity early on in my theatre experiences.

This network is continuously growing and is working towards greater visibility and representation of Latinx and BIPOC designers in the field, professional support for members at different stages in their career and equitable access to resources within the industry. This has opened so many doors for me, and it’s going to open a lot of doors for the next generation of Latinx artists.

Garcia served as the carpenter/lighting apprentice for Endstation Theatre Company. Photo by John Kiselica and courtesy of Luis Garcia.

During his senior year of high school, Garcia helped with the creation of a dragon head for Osceola County School for the Arts' production of "The Hobbit". Photo by Tom Davis and courtesy of Luis Garcia.

Completed product of dragon head Garcia worked on for Osceola County School for the Arts' production of "The Hobbit". Photo by Tom Davis and courtesy of Luis Garcia.

Garcia stage managed Osceola County School for the Arts' production of "Antigone" his junior year of high school. Photo by Tom Davis and courtesy of Luis Garcia.

Garcia ran sound and helped build the set for Osceola County School for the Arts' production of "Noises Off" his freshman year of high school. Photo by Tom Davis and courtesy of Luis Garcia.

The pandemic and the cancellation of live performance events have caused many theatre professionals to pivot towards different projects, even outside of the industry. What has this past year looked like for you?
I would be lying if I said the past year has been easy. Just like many other artists in the industry, I was furloughed from the theatre company that employed me. Due to this, I actually ended up moving back home to Florida to be near my family. This has completely shifted my career from being a lighting and video designer to now being a live-stream consultant for multiple virtual productions across the country. I could have never predicted this shift in media, but I am extremely grateful and humbled for these unique experiences and, as always, opportunities to network and increase my skill set.

What are you working on now?
I have a few different virtual productions in the works. In October and November, I was the video designer for The American Conservatory Theatre’s virtual production of The Thanksgiving Play and Blood Wedding. Currently, I am video designing for Theatre Forward’s virtual fundraiser; video editing for a virtual cabaret; and I will be the live-stream programmer for a fundraiser hosted by Voices of Our City Choir. I have also started as a venue tech at a new entertainment venue located in downtown Orlando. I am excited for these upcoming opportunities and continue to contribute to the theatre industry.

What advice would you give current high school students who are interested in pursuing a career as a designer?
At times in the theatre industry, it is common to feel isolated and overwhelmed. It is important to remember that you are not alone. It is always daunting to get started in this field. I’ve found that staying open and honest with friends, family, and especially mentors can make the process easier. There’s never a reason to feel embarrassed when asking questions or asking for help because we’ve all been there before. Trust in yourself and your abilities, and the rest will come.

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Casting a Lifeline

Linda Buchwald — Fri, 08 Jan 2021 18:15:40 +0000

IN 2014, Claremont High, Calif., student Diana Chao was struggling to find help for her bipolar disorder. As a Chinese immigrant, she found that the standard treatments, such as therapy and medication, were either inaccessible or unhelpful for her. She found lifelines in two places: participating in her Thespian troupe and writing to strangers.

Those lifelines led her to found Letters to Strangers, a nonprofit organization that helps teens around the world and works to destigmatize mental illness.

Diana Chao was one of the L’Oréal Paris 2020 Women of Worth Honorees.

Chao, who was diagnosed at age 13, had experienced a disconnect between the compatibility in racial understanding and cultural competency of U.S. psychologists and psychiatrists — who are overwhelmingly white — and the needs of patients like her. “It felt like seeking help meant curating my story in a way that was more palatable to non-POC providers, because I was constantly being forced into the stereotype of ‘robotic kid overly stressed by tiger parents,’ when actually my parents didn’t care about my grades at all and my stressors were almost entirely non-school-related,” she says.

As a sophomore, she joined Troupe 2129 — “I’d always loved theatre and singing, so when I saw that my high school had a musical theatre program, it was a no-brainer to join,” she says — and turned to writing to strangers to combat her loneliness. These letters helped her realize that not only did she have a story worth telling, but if she could be kind and empathetic towards strangers, she should give herself the same courtesy. Her mantra: “Writing is humanity distilled into ink.”

“In writing anonymous letters to strangers, anyone can have total agency,” she says. “Our stories become our own to tell and write, and that reassurance of autonomy and self-value can be a lifeline when everything else feels meaningless.” Since letter writing had been therapeutic for her, she thought it might work for others as well, and that gave her the idea to start Letters to Strangers as a student club.

Now Chao is a college student at Princeton University and Letters to Strangers is a much larger organization. In addition to connecting people through anonymous letters, Letters to Strangers provides annual scholarships, which seek to fund the education of an underrepresented individuals studying in the mental healthcare field. “We hope to change mental health by diversifying the system itself,” she says.

Her Thespian roots are a strong foundation for her frequent speaking gigs on mental health. And though Chao hasn’t continued with theatre in college, she is involved with other performing groups including a cappella and dance. “It’s wonderful to still channel elements of my ‘Thespian self,’ even though I’m not directly part of any theatre productions on campus,” she says.

What are your favorite memories of being a Thespian?
I loved seeing the shows come to life. When you’re behind the scenes, whether it be in a rehearsal or working on the computer designing publicity materials, everything feels so piecemeal and intangible. But the magic of the curtains opening and every element perfectly synchronizing with each other is just so thoroughly satisfying, you feel it in your soul.

How did you expand Letters to Strangers from your initial idea to a global organization?
Originally, I was very quiet about L2S (the shorthand for Letters to Strangers) being a mental health-oriented organization. I had only told a few close friends about my diagnosis, and I was terrified of the stigma and how people would react. During my high school years, I focused on framing it as an education-focused idea instead, raising money for literacy and rural education among other timely causes. However, once I graduated from high school and could finally leave the confines of my hometown, I decided to embrace my story and go public with my illness.

The warm reception I received completely took me by surprise and made me believe that finally, I can clearly tell the world about the mental health background of L2S and redirect our mission. That’s when more and more people began to find us online and wanted to get involved. At the time we were really one of the only youth-for-youth mental health organizations out there, and being one led by a young woman of color (me) meant that we drew a diverse and underserved crowd of youth changemakers who were eager to make their imprint on the world, too.

With their generous faith and incredible work ethic, they developed chapters (“branches” of sorts) on their school campuses and in their local communities, eventually growing to a network of more than 35,000 people in over 20 countries worldwide. That makes us the largest youth-for-youth mental health organization today.

You are studying geosciences, history, and diplomacy. Did your theatre experience prepare you in any way for your current studies and for starting your own nonprofit organization?
My studies are definitely a bit unorthodox (there are about 10 people in my major in my grade), but I think the spirit of adventurousness related to it comes in part from my Thespian background. Being a Thespian meant fusing together elements of life that might otherwise feel disjointed, from tech to publicity to house management to acting to music, and I’ve really taken all the quick-thinking and adaptability skills I gleaned from theatre into my current academic life.

As for my nonprofit, actually a huge part of it is motivated by a deep trust in the ability of the arts to epitomize human expression. That’s probably the biggest takeaway I had from theatre in high school, and it is one of the reasons why one of L2S’s biggest projects to date was a short film series about letters featuring actors from the Screen Actors Guild of New York.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people are even more isolated and depressed. How are you coping in this time?
Honestly, I haven’t been doing too well — but who has, right? I think the key thing during this time is to give ourselves permission: Permission to rest, to heal, to be a bit slower than usual, to take care of our health (mental and physical). It’s really put into perspective for me how precious and unpredictable life can be, so I am focusing on rechanneling my energy towards gratitude and carpe diem whenever I can.

Of course, there are still plenty of days when I just roll up in my blanket like a burrito and sob for hours, but I also don’t blame myself for that anymore. When there is so little we can do, one thing we ought to give ourselves credit for is getting through each day with such limited experiences and tools at our disposal.

What advice would you offer current high school Thespians?
The skills, friendships, and experiences you glean from theatre will stay with you for life. Though you may worry about getting the perfect role, or nailing the perfect line, or aligning your career prospects to perfectly expand upon your thespian background, know that no matter what happens, being a Thespian won’t leave you. Worries will come and go, but the Thespian spirit is for life!

The post Casting a Lifeline appeared first on Dramatics Magazine Online.

Daring to Dream

Cody Renard Richard — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 18:00:00 +0000

I HAVE ALWAYS been a dreamer. I’ve always loved the idea of the unimaginable becoming reality. In fact, “Dare to Dream” was my motto throughout college! I believed in the power of dreams so much that I had it tattooed on the side of my body when I was 21 years old. In that moment, I realized I was actively living out one of my biggest dreams — attending college and pursuing my newfound passion in theatre.

(Editor’s Note: Cody Renard Richard is teaching a workshop at 2021 ITF! Join him and get tips for stage managing different media. From HAMILTON to JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR LIVE!, you’ll learn from the his experiences. Register now.)

The beauty of dreaming is that the possibilities are endless, and there are no restrictions or limitations to what we can achieve in our dreams. Our dreams should be big, they should be expansive, they should include all of our greatest desires. Yet we also know that “dreams don’t work unless you do.” If we don’t put any hustle or belief behind our dreams, they will stay exactly that — dreams.

A dream without a plan is just a wish.

According to a study by University of California researchers, people whose dreams include the process are more likely to stick to their goals than those who only dream about the desired outcome. In other words, if you only see yourself winning a Tony Award, and you don’t visualize the training, commitment, and preparation needed to get to that moment, you may be less likely to get up every day to fight for your dream. That’s where the work comes in.

One of the biggest questions I ask myself when setting goals or dreaming about the future is “Why?” My why must be strong enough to motivate and inspire me to keep going until I can’t go any further. Equally important, I try to be as specific and intentional as possible when going after my dreams and goals. Following through with these intentions certainly takes patience, dedication and self-discipline — I’ll admit that I’m not always successful here, and that’s when my why becomes even more important.

You can absolutely reach your dreams if you give them a chance.

Cut to 2020, 10 years since I graduated college: I’ve been able to see many dreams fully realized, from working on Broadway to traveling the world to most recently the launch of The Cody Renard Richard Scholarship Program. Interestingly enough, the achievement of each of these dreams brought me a different awareness or obstacle to face. Whether it was the inequities of certain situations or figuring out how to navigate uncharted territory, each dream looked different than I initially visualized, which helped inform how I moved forward.

What are some of your dreams? And more specifically, when you close your eyes and dream about the future of theatre, what does that look like to you? I’ve been asked this question numerous times in the last few months, and every time I begin to answer, I’m reminded of this quote by the incomparable Ava Duvernay: “If your dream only includes you, it’s too small.”

Back in October, I had the privilege to give the keynote address at the National Collaborators Conference, in which I offered up my personal dream for the future of theatre:

“When thinking and dreaming about future of theatre, for me this is what I see:

The future of theatre looks like me. The future of theatre looks like each of you engaging with me right now. The future of theatre reflects the world that I want to live in. The future of theatre welcomes, accepts and supports me as my whole being. The future of theatre is a place where I don’t have to hide portions of myself in order to fit in. I’m not code switching, I’m not awkwardly laughing at microaggressions, I’m not playing a game to work a system that wasn’t created for me, I’m not checking the company list before rehearsal to mentally prepare myself for what I’m about to walk into, and I’m not stepping out of rehearsal to wipe away tears because I feel powerless.

Instead, I’m creating art. I’m witnessing beautiful Black and Brown and White — and I’m talking African American, Asian, Caucasian, Latinx, Indigenous, Middle Eastern, women, men, non-binary, trans, I’m talking America. I’m creating art and collaborating with different cultures and ideas and backgrounds.

My voice isn’t being silenced — your voice isn’t being silenced. Instead, in this dream world, in the future of theatre we listen without interjecting, we ask questions of clarity for better understanding, we allow a space for others to be heard. We listen without the intent of responding, but instead with the intention of understanding what the other person is saying.

In the future of theatre, the phrase “well, it’s always been done that way” doesn’t exist. The notion of returning to the way things were or “the norm” does not exist. Instead, it’s a world of new perspectives. We take the best of what has historically been done and continue to build upon that.

In the spirit of collaboration, we each have a responsibility to not only be the change we want to see, but to actively create that change in every decision we make. Our words and thoughts have power. What we say and how we move through the world affects more than just us.

Please join me in committing to doing the work. Join me in committing to continuing the work. Everyday, ask yourself:

“Are my actions echoing what I believe in?”

“Am I utilizing my gifts to the best of my abilities?”

“Am I collaborating with others to combine our magic to make something beautiful?”

“Am I allowing other perspectives in?”

“Am I providing space for someone else to shine?”

So I ask you again: What’s your personal dream for our future? What steps can you take today to get us closer to your dream world within the theatre?

For me, I vow to never dim my light for the comfortability of others again, and I commit to making space for others, as I continue to take space for myself. We must remember that we are the future of theatre, and we have the power to shift the landscape of our reality — one dream at a time.

Hear more of Cody Renard Richard’s inspiring words at the 2021 International Thespian Festival. He’ll also share advice on stage management in a workshop just for students. Register now!

The post Daring to Dream appeared first on Dramatics Magazine Online.

Finding Her Way

Allison Dolan — Thu, 10 Dec 2020 15:00:33 +0000

TODAY, MARIE CISCO is the owner of a full-service production company, one she founded to uplift stories of Black and African culture. Currently, she’s juggling producing duties on The Black Joy Project, a unique collaborative that will result in the creation of both a play and documentary film; editing an anthology of essays by Black millennial artists reimagining the future of live entertainment post-pandemic; and developing new initiatives with Academy Award-winning rapper Common.

Despite her recent success, Cisco says it’s unfortunately still rare to see young, Black women in roles like these. “I think it’s not seeing people in a lot of these positions that look like us,” Cisco said. “I think, speaking personally, it’s suffering from imposter syndrome, feeling like if I’m one of the only people in the room, then am I really supposed to be here? And it’s systemic; it’s the gatekeepers. If the gatekeepers are all older, white men and they’re bringing in their friends, then you’re not getting in the gate. It’s all those things you’re up against.”

Cisco’s introduction to theatre was, in part, a happy accident. “I grew up in Atlanta, and I ran track my freshman year because all my friends did it,” Cisco said. “But it’s very hot in Atlanta, and I quickly realized I didn’t like to run.”
The teacher of her drama elective at Salem High School suggested she audition for the school play. “A friend and I did, and we were both cast in Little Shop of Horrors. That was my first musical,” Cisco said. “It was the first time I had been part of something where I felt like everybody from different backgrounds, different social milieus within high school, came together with one similar goal. I knew this was something I wanted to do. I thought at that time I was going to be a pediatrician or a lawyer, so I didn’t think I would pursue it as a career, but I knew that, in some capacity, it would be part of my life.”

Cisco soon moved away from acting — “I quickly learned that wasn’t my jam,” she said, though she did close out her Thespian career playing Ruth Younger in A Raisin in the Sun. Yet her interest in storytelling remained. Following administrative roles at The National Black Theatre and The Public Theater, in addition to a stint working on television and film productions with Lee Daniels Entertainment, she founded Cisco & Co. Productions to amplify voices of other Black creatives.

“I’m clear about the stories I want to tell, but I’m also open to stories I haven’t thought about that are interesting to me,” Cisco said. “I’m West African, so it’s really important to me to tell traditional West African stories. But I was born in the States, so African American stories as well and stories that aren’t necessarily based in the struggle of being a person of color or Black person in this country. That can be kitchen-sink dramas, that can be sci-fi, that can be horror stories that elevate the level of storytelling and free writers to create ― not under the oppression of what they think they have to write for white consumption or for consumption by the masses. Those are the stories I’m really interested in telling and being part of.”

How did you find your way to producing?
I went to undergrad for theatre management. At the time it was a very new major. Only three or four schools in the country had it, and the Theatre School at DePaul University was one of them. In this program, they partnered with the business school, so you had some creative classes, but then you also had business and accounting classes, statistics classes, and things like that. The people in my class wanted to be anywhere from marketing directors to IT people in theatre. I didn’t know what I wanted to do in theatre, actually; I just knew I wanted to be an artist at the table.

When I got out of school, I was stage managing. I was the director of audience development for a small theatre company, MPAACT in Chicago, then I started directing. And I really, really loved directing. But I wanted to oversee and organize the entire process and bring people together. Directing didn’t do that in the capacity I wanted. I had thought about being a producer, but in undergrad when we met producers in class, they were Broadway producers, and they were all older white people who had money. I thought, to be a producer, you have to be older and white and have money, and I am none of those things so I can’t be a producer.

So, I worked in the field, and I decided to go back to grad school after being out of undergrad for three years. I did a one-year M.A. program at Columbia College Chicago in interdisciplinary arts, and that’s where I worked with a cohort of artists from multiple disciplines. We produced work together, we collaborated, we made scripts for each other, we learned how to incorporate multimedia ― just really fascinating things I never got to do. I realized I wanted to be a producer, and I could figure out in what capacity I could be a producer. I began to understand it didn’t have to look like how it had been presented to me. I could find my way into this role and create what I needed it to be for me and for the work I wanted to make.

Your current role as a producer for the Black Joy Project is such a unique experience. A group of artists, led by director Stevie Walker-Webb, isolated together for a month on a farm in Vermont to create a play outside the power structures of and without reference to whiteness. Can you describe your takeaways from that process?
Stevie’s whole purpose for this project was to create a methodology for creating work that is rooted in Black culture but also to create a play from that. Then we filmed the entire process documentary-style, and we’re going into postproduction for that film next month.

I had never worked on anything like this. To have a group of 17 Black creatives in one of the whitest states in the country isolated on a farm for a month on stolen land trying to figure out what Black joy is authentically ― that is, in itself, a very unique experience. But I prepped for it like any project in terms of budgeting and organizing travel and supplies. Then when I got there, I quickly realized this was not like any project. We didn’t come there with a script. We came there with the intention to create and discover, and when you have such an eclectic group of artists and creatives you realize that everybody does that in their own way.

When you aren’t under the guise of an institution that is dictating how you are supposed to create and when you are supposed to show up and when you are supposed to deliver ― that freedom didn’t allow me to produce the way I have allowed myself to be trained to produce. I had to let go of some of the rigid nature of what it means to be a producer who’s super organized and allow myself to be open to what the process needed while I was there on the ground. That was very different but also a learning experience for me as we were thinking about how to strip away Western ways and ideologies of making. There has to be structure. You have to be organized but also open to whatever the process needs and what the needs of the people involved are. That’s one of the things I definitely want to take away as a producer ― to allow the process and the people involved to inform what the process needs to be.

You’re also working on an anthology of essays by millennial artists of color about post-pandemic entertainment. What have been the common themes?
One of the things that’s coming up a lot is critiquing things that don’t work in the live performance world, and I think it’s across the board from all disciplines. But also identifying places or institutions or companies that are doing it right. And then there’s ― and I think this comes from a lot of anger of the protests and Black people dying at a disproportionate rate from corona ― a lot of call for revolutionary acts, taking back what it is we need and not just taking it back but creating that world. Not going to the white institutions and asking, “See us, treat us better, pay us more.” Instead it’s saying, “No, we are going to decenter you and your need, and we’re going to create the reality and future we want to live in.”

I think as students are going into college and getting out into the professional field, we always know when we’re in spaces where something doesn’t feel right. It’s important to come together and say no. It’s not enough to just complain in the dorm room or form an affinity group and complain about it there. It’s important to have those support spaces, but you have to have action. Don’t be afraid to put action behind the things you have identified that aren’t working, especially in places where you are paying money to be educated. It’s owning your education and being bold and speaking up when you know something isn’t right. And it’s knowing there are people out there who are feeling the same way you are. Find those people and know they may change as you change and become the person you’re meant to be.

You have held many roles, from performing and writing to directing, stage managing, and producing. How does a broad range of experience help you as a producer and the owner of your own company?
It’s so important as a producer to know how to talk to people in different roles. So, to have the experience of being a director, I know the things they’re thinking about, the concerns they have, their planning process. When I sit down and talk to a director, I can help guide them. I haven’t performed in a really long time, but I know what it means to go through the process of learning lines or learning blocking and to go through all the things actors do. I have been a stage manager, so I can dissect a process from all these roles and capacities. It helps me organize and create a flow of what needs to happen in production but it also helps me sit down and talk to almost anyone in any department in any role and understand where they’re coming from.

What advice would you give Thespians interested in a career like yours?
Identify people whose careers you like and study the things they did, the people they talked to. Figure out how to set up coffee dates or phone conversations with as many of those people as possible. I know it seems daunting to reach those people, but it’s really not that difficult. If you’re thinking about college, find a program that has producing, even if it’s just a single class you can take. Take accounting classes, take statistics classes, take classes on how to put together a business plan so you have that knowledge. But stay tapped into the creative and what it means to develop a script, what it means to develop a project. It’s really about having both feet in the production side but also the creative side as well.

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Black Girl Joy

Allison Dolan — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 18:58:56 +0000

WHEN SHE WAS around 8 years old, Phanésia Pharel ― then a newcomer to the Miami, Florida, area ― found herself enrolled in an amateur theatre camp housed at the local mall. “It was hilarious,” Pharel said. “They had a guy come in every day who showed us magic tricks that I don’t even feel would pass the YouTube test, then they had us watch movie musicals. I guess they didn’t know to get us sheet music or bring in someone to be a pianist. There was no technique. So, we learned Hairspray the musical from watching the movie.”

Despite the less-than-illustrious introduction, Pharel became hooked on theatre and, later, playwriting. Her first completed script, Penelope ― a biting allegory about systemic racism and the ways in which public education fails students ― earned Pharel a trip to the 2016 International Thespian Festival as part of the Thespian Playworks program. In Penelope, a young Black woman must literally walk the tightrope to survive the circus that is her school. During what Pharel describes as a dark time, the Troupe 3637 alum said, “Thespians was a light.”

Currently a member of the Barnard College class of 2021 at Columbia University, where she recently won the Brandt Playwriting Award and Helen Prince Memorial Prize for excellence in dramatic composition, Pharel will soon mark another milestone: the end of her virtual residency at Los Angeles’ Echo Theater Company, where her latest work, Black Girl Joy, will be read via livestream in December.

Pharel sees the play as emblematic of her work, which often focuses on marginalized voices. “I write about a lot of different things,” she said, “but one of the things I love specifically about writing about Black girls is if you give Black girl characters the space, they will take it.”

When were you introduced to playwriting, and whose work inspires you?
I didn’t know about playwriting until I was 15. I was very much interested in being an actor. I also wanted to become a comedy writer. When I was 13, my house burned down. It was really traumatic, and all I did was watch Saturday Night Live. That was my coping mechanism, getting into comedy. I was a Tina Fey fan, a super Sarah Silverman fan. So, I would write my own comedy sketches about what it was like to be a teenage girl getting her period, weird stuff like that.

I remember my drama teacher ― there was a public theatre program through City Theatre to teach young people how to write plays. It was during the summer, it was about two hours away from my town through public transportation, and he really encouraged me to do it. I submitted a spoof of Mean Girls called Vegan Girls. I showed up thinking I was going to learn to write screenplays because I had some experience in a film scholars program through the University of Miami. I showed up, and they were talking about plays.

I was so confused because, even though I was reading all these plays in my theatre program in high school, I never really thought writing plays was something someone could do. I have a continuous relationship with City Theatre ― I interned there a couple of years later, and I was part of their program for the next generation of playwrights. So, they really nurtured my voice as a young playwright, and that was where I got my understanding of playwriting.

I read a lot of Suzan-Lori Parks. She’s the benchmark for me of what it means to be a great playwright. Her plays were so crazy, and I didn’t understand a lot of them, but I felt them. And that’s something I really liked: You might not understand every piece of theatre you read. We live in a world now where so much content is digestible. Even in classes, they tell you, “Make your work digestible.” And I’m just now working with a theatre company that’s telling me to do the opposite, that I don’t necessarily have to make my work digestible. I feel like Suzan-Lori Parks is similar to Toni Morrison because her work asks you to meet her where she’s at. She’s not talking to you. You have to get to that place.

What inspired your Thespian Playworks script, Penelope?
As a performer, I felt very much put to the side. I would always get typecast as certain characters, or I wouldn’t get to play characters that spoke to my experience. So, I decided to write. I started to loathe performing because it was so stressful, whereas playwriting opens worlds. It opened opportunities.

With Penelope, I was coming from a place of feeling unheard in my high school. There were so many experiences, but a lot of people above me in their roles in public education, they still had work to do in terms of being complicit within white supremacy. If you don’t acknowledge racism ― if you are not fully prepared to acknowledge that ― you’re not going to be prepared when a young Black girl comes up to you and explains to you how racism is happening; you’re not going to be prepared to hear her. I think Penelope was that no one was hearing me, but here I found this really great way of expressing myself. I wanted to write a satirical play clowning the public education system, turning it into a circus, taking all my frustration and putting it in one place.

I used to write rants on my high school drama teacher’s computer about my feelings, and I would perform them at our spoken word night. I have so much love for my high school drama teacher, Juan Espinosa, because ― and I’m getting emotional thinking about it ― he would tell me, “There’s nothing you can’t do.” Even when I didn’t know how to use my emotions in a healthy way, he was such a loving professor that he cheered me on and told me, “Keep expressing yourself.” Because of him, I felt comfortable writing that play. I didn’t have anybody who was encouraging me in that way. He will always be someone I treasure because of that.

Penelope is at the center of the story because I like to write from my perspective, but even within the play, all these different types of people who have different experiences and struggles come together to stand up and revolt. Public education can sometimes really limit expression when it’s done poorly. And, when it’s at its best, you’re able to fully express yourself. I’m inspired by all the high schoolers right now who are writing petitions and calling out racism. These students who are speaking up ― that’s so important. That’s the essence of Penelope.

Was Penelope the experience that made you decide to pursue playwriting, or did that come later?
It was a mix. At the International Thespian Festival, we had an amazing staged reading. It was one of the best memories ever, so many people were just on the edge of their seats. Is Penelope the best play ever written in the history of the world? Absolutely not, but it was a play that a 16-year-old Black girl from a low-income school in Miami wrote. I wrote really boldly, and I think the reception it received ― the best play in the world might not be the play that people care about because it might not be the play that drives us as humans or pulls us in.

After the reading, this girl came up to me, and she was crying. And I remember this changing my life ― she just looked at me and said, “This is incredible. I feel so seen.” And I thought, “If I can do that, I should totally keep doing this.” I knew to hold on to writing. I didn’t necessarily know how it would manifest. There are other things I want to do with my life. I didn’t major in theatre; I majored in urban studies. But I do feel like playwriting is kind of my life’s calling. Too many things have happened that have confirmed that for me to just walk away.

Your most recent play, Black Girl Joy, has been described as the coming together of four young women grieving the loss of their friend. Why was this story important to you now?
Black Girl Joy started in January. I was studying abroad, and in a fever dream, I wrote a scene of this girl coming into a room and talking to her mom, and her mom being like, get away from me. The girl is haunting her mother because she has something important to tell her. These two ― the mother and the daughter ― have been under so much stress just from being Black. Black women take on so much. I think part of what you have to learn as a Black woman is to let things go. You don’t have to do everything. You don’t have to be everywhere. You can ask for help.

There’s this idea of the strong, independent, magical Black woman. That’s not a human being. No one can live up to that standard, and even trying will kill you. I really wanted to write a play that brings down our toxic ideas of Black women and how that manifests on Black girls. Black women face a lot of danger. We experience the most domestic violence. We experience the most assault as young women. We get targeted more in schools. I wanted to write a play that had a diverse group of Black girls. They’re talking about all these experiences ― the neglect, how they’ve been left behind, the expectations placed on them, and how they had to push back against those expectations.

Through viBe Theater Experience, you teach young women of color about leadership and writing. What is the most important lesson you share with them, and what would you tell Thespians interested in provoking change in theatre today?
What’s cool about working with viBe is that it reinforces my interest in writing about young people for as long as I can. When I’m there, I’m so inspired. What I try to teach them is how to get out of their own way and let their voices lead. There’s so much programming that tries to shrink girls and make them feel small. But they’re brilliant. Put a young woman in office, and just see how the world changes.

Young people have a lot of power because they are among the biggest consumers. Young people are incredible innovators. I feel the best thing you can do is speak to power, critique, do the research, listen to different perspectives. Learn from other people ― don’t just hold the mike for yourself. Be willing to have tough conversations. They say it’s much harder to change an institution built on certain ideals than to make a new one. I think people who want to make their own projects, want to make their own theatre companies or their own collectives, that’s really important. That’s where innovation in theatre will come from. I don’t think we necessarily have to follow the old rule book.

The post Black Girl Joy appeared first on Dramatics Magazine Online.

Learning Trust

Sandra Lundgren — Fri, 09 Oct 2020 18:53:14 +0000

SOPHIA HILLMAN says her earliest memories involve a fascination with New York City, where her cousin worked as a professional actress. As a present for her 10th birthday, her mom gave Hillman her first taste of the Big Apple.

“From the very last row, we saw Matilda the Musical on Broadway,” she said. “I couldn’t keep my eyes off it and was completely bit by the bug. I thought — there were kids my age doing this. I saw myself reflected on the stage. That was all the inspiration I needed.”

Sophia Hillman

Hillman was inducted into the International Thespian Society as a member of Olathe North High School’s Thespian Troupe 3310 in 2017. The Kansan served as her troupe secretary and later president. Over the course of her high school career, she performed in 29 productions.

Hillman’s work paid off as the recipient of the 2020 Amy Bennett Musical Theatre Scholarship, awarded annually to a graduating senior entering a college program to major in musical theatre. The scholarship is funded by the Amy Bennett Foundation, a nonprofit established in 2014 in memory of a Thespian Troupe 7070 alum.

Outside of theatre, Hillman loves to dance, write poetry, play games with friends, and read. She’s also active in her community. “I volunteer at a food bank — the work used to be preparing and serving food; now I deliver it,” Hillman said. “With some friends, I also volunteer to clean up the grounds at my high school. They have an open lunch policy, so people can eat anywhere. And they’re not always good about cleaning up after themselves. This community service work reminds me I am in a privileged position in my life. I am lucky enough to have a school and family that support me.”

Earlier this fall, Hillman started the next phase of her musical theatre journey, as a student at Wichita State University pursuing a BFA. “Theatre is the perfect platform where anyone and everyone can be accepted, challenged, and loved,” Hillman said. “I intend to use my education and training to assist and empower young scholars who are underserved. Everyone has the potential to have an impact on the world; I aspire to do this through theatre and community connections.”

Sophia Hillman in her school production of Bright Star. Photo courtesy of Sophia Hillman.

Sophia Hillman says her favorite role was Norma in Hands on a Hardbody. Photo courtesy of Sophia Hillman.

When did you realize musical theatre was your strong suit?
I have never been afraid to be loud in front of an audience. When I was 6, I was Little Miss Muffet in our school’s musical about Mother Goose. I didn’t have any training; it was just natural for me. And it was fun. In middle school, I always did plays and was in choir, but I didn’t combine the two — acting and singing — until high school.

My first success was my freshman year in my first musical ever, Oklahoma! I was cast as Ado Annie. I was thrown into this flamboyant role and had a great time. The experience was a whirlwind. I felt very proud of myself because, in my school, freshmen were never cast, and this was such an iconic show.

What experiences have you had in theatre besides performing in musicals?
In middle school, I was in plays, and I have also done props, costumes, run crew, stage management, and directing. Once I got to be a pyrotechnician. That was fun — I blew things up and lit things on fire.

Directing is my second favorite thing to do besides acting. When I was just 4, I would direct the TV shows I was watching, aware of the way people were speaking and moving.

So far, I have directed three shows. When I was in high school, I directed 30 Horrible Catastrophes of Middle School at my former Title I middle school. The kids had to be onstage the whole time, and I had to teach them how to stay in character and how to be different characters in different scenes. I knew these kids were from impoverished homes, and when they were onstage, I had to think about what they were bringing with them — did they have their supper, did they get their medicine, did they have a safe place to sleep.

My junior year, I directed The Sound of Music, which has a lot of history that must be done with delicacy. And the dancing is challenging too. But my senior year, I directed Elf the Musical, which turned out to be most challenging of all. It was new then, and this was its debut in my city. We had 60 high school students onstage and our first-ever sold-out house.

Sophia Hillman (front center, with the team for The Sound of Music) says directing is her second favorite theatre activity.

What has been your most challenging role?
My most challenging role came as a sophomore in The Little Mermaid. I was Flotsam, one of the twin eels. It was challenging because you’re with a partner the entire time, in a six-layer costume with LED lights in the sleeves. We had to turn the lights on and off to save batteries, while on Heelys. And the twin eels had to have the exact same motions.

When I was a junior, I was the female lead in Hands on a Hardbody. That was very challenging to be onstage the whole time with my hands on the truck, including during a scene where I had to do some crazy laughing.

For Bring It On — the Musical, I was in the ensemble. It was a different kind of challenge because the story, about an impoverished community, hit close to home. Every role is a challenge in its own way.

My favorite role was Norma in Hands on a Hardbody. It was hilarious with a big, belty, soulful song at the end. I went through every emotion an actor can go through. I don’t take things if they don’t challenge me, and I want to grow in every role I take.

What is the most valuable lesson you’ve learned from musical theatre?
One of the most valuable things I’ve learned is to trust myself. As Ado Annie in Oklahoma!, the choreography called for me to be flipped, and it was frightening. I had to trust myself so I could trust others. You have to make choices with everything — where you walk, how you speak. And I had to trust I was making the right choices for myself.

What advice would you give other Thespians interested in musical theatre?
My director for Bring It On said something that stays with me that I’d like to pass on. He said, “Concern yourself more with who you want to be rather than what you want to be, such as an actor or singer, and the rest will fall into place.” I find this happening for me. I am focused on being a good person and a stronger human being.

The post Learning Trust appeared first on Dramatics Magazine Online.

Creative Leadership

Anita Martin — Tue, 22 Sep 2020 20:30:44 +0000

BEFORE SHE BECAME director of original series at Netflix — back when Netflix was still an online DVD rental store — Carolina Garcia was a Thespian in Claremont High School’s Troupe 2129, devoted to both musical theatre and dance.

Carolina Garcia

“I have to give a shoutout to my theatre teacher, Krista Carson Elhai,” Garcia said. “She was a game changer. She created a community, a home, and at the same time demanded excellence from all of us. My best friends to this day are from my time in theatre.”

During her high school Thespian days, Garcia played Ado Annie in Oklahoma!, Nickie in Sweet Charity, a featured dancer in Evita and Hello, Dolly!, and Grace in Annie, to name a few roles. Garcia assumed she’d pursue theatre professionally. “But when it came time to pick a path,” she said, “I surprised myself and chose to study business and political science — two things I had zero knowledge of. I figured why not try something new and eventually marry the two?”

Born in San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina, and bilingual from a young age, Garcia deftly navigates different cultures and modalities: Spanish and English (later also French, Italian, and German). Musical theatre and classical ballet. Show business and executive leadership.

While earning her business degree at the University of San Diego, Garcia interned at 20th Century Fox, which led to her first full-time job as executive assistant for then-CEO Dana Walden (now chair of Disney Television Studios and ABC Entertainment). Garcia remained at Fox for nearly a decade before joining the nascent young adult programming team at Netflix.

In November 2019, Hollywood Reporter named Garcia to its annual “Top 35 Executives Under 35” list of young execs leading “a seismic change” and poised to take the industry into the future. In July 2020, she began a four-year term on the Educational Theatre Association’s board of directors, helping to guide the future of EdTA and the International Thespian Society.

Meanwhile, Garcia made her musical theatre comeback and now performs regularly at The Rockwell Table and Stage in Los Feliz Village, California. She also dances whenever she can. Before the pandemic, she took classes almost every day at EDGE Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles.

For Garcia, being a Thespian “absolutely prepared me for my career. It taught me how to be part of a team, and it taught me the value of supporting and rooting for each other.

“Theatre people are a special kind of tribe,” Garcia continued, “and we operate on the basis of acceptance and inclusion, two things that are critical in the workplace. It provided a safe space to be who I am — a judgement-free zone, and that’s how we all thrive.”

What is a typical day like for the director of original series at Netflix?
The beauty is that every day is different. On a weekly basis, I’m taking pitches, reading scripts for current series, reading books and scripts that could be interesting to develop, watching cuts and giving feedback to our showrunners and producers, weighing in on casting decisions, going to table reads, meeting new and emerging voices, and spending time with our creators, whether on set or in pre- or postproduction. COVID has impacted my job in that I’m not currently traveling to sets, and I’m taking all meetings from home. Naturally, I miss the in-person human connections, but that will come with time.

I currently have several shows in development that I’m excited to share with audiences around the world. I also have lots of shows in various stages of production, including Stranger Things, Raising Dion, Dash & Lily, and Atypical, to name a few.

What was it like working so closely with Dana Walden, one of the most powerful women in American entertainment?
My foundational knowledge of the entertainment business came from Dana — and for that, I am so grateful. It would be impossible to describe all the things I learned, but one of the most important lessons was how to focus and be in the moment. So many women are mothers, wives, and run companies — and you must show up 100% for all those jobs. Being where your feet are, in the midst of all the things on your to-do list, is critical to being an effective leader.

Why and how did you make the transition to Netflix?
Curiosity is what led me. I had been at 20th Century Fox for almost nine years, and I loved it. But I also knew that it was time for me to challenge myself and try something new, otherwise I’d never grow. Netflix was just getting started in creating original series when I stumbled upon their culture deck online. I was so curious about how the company worked that I sought an informational coffee with (my now-boss) Brian Wright. He was just starting the young adult/family programming initiative, and I became one of the founding members of that content team.

Do you still dabble in musical theatre?
Yes! I stopped performing when I got to college, but as the years went on, I noticed that little voice inside — the one that said, “Yo, girl. Why’d you stop singing?” — kept getting louder. Honestly, I was scared to admit that because I wanted to be taken seriously in my job. It was an either/or at the time.

The day finally came when I realized that leaning into who I am was going to make me a better executive and a better human. I couldn’t show up fully to my job if I wasn’t fully myself. I acknowledged that life is short and made the decision to start performing. And after a 15-year hiatus, I took the stage once again.

I started performing at these “Broadway Bar” nights at The Rockwell Table and Stage in Los Feliz and eventually worked my way up to having my own show. I put on “An Evening of Song with Carolina & the Singers of Soul,” and the shows were sold out. Before COVID, I was performing at Rockwell about once a month. My dear friend Dedrick Bonner runs a gospel choir, Singers of Soul, and they back me up. And by “back me up,” I mean bring the house down with their incredible magnitude of talent.

My first “solo” show was terrifying. Tickets were sold out before I knew what I was going to sing. My only goal was to make sure people left the show feeling better than when they walked in, and I think we did that.

What advice would you give current high school Thespians?
Follow your curiosity. And, if you are able, continue your education. Use this precious time to be a sponge and absorb all the things that spark joy and interest you. Remember that your first job out of school won’t necessarily be the end all, be all. And, of course, wherever you are, do your best and be kind to everyone. You never know where life will take you.

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