On the surface, being a theater teacher seems like an easy job. How hard can it be? However, it’s so much more complicated than many realize.

      Over the last three years the St. Cloud Theatre Company has had eight teachers fill the role of technical or acting director. The role of being a theater teacher alone can bring its own challenges, from after-school productions, teaching day-to-day classes, and everything required in between. The acting/theatre classes are not like your average classes. They don’t compare to teaching math or reading; theater classes have their own approach. Teachers teach it in their own way. Ms. Chamberlain explains “I come from teaching something that has a very clear-cut path of what to do and what you don't do. I'm teaching with the standards, obviously, but it's very much free form of what you want to do with those standards and there's a pacing that you can teach it however you want.” You may think they just follow the standard given by the district, but “St. Cloud does things a little bit differently than other schools in the district with the paths of courses and course codes that are taught. to where, most other schools don't have people do acting two through four. They normally do then theater one through four. And so, the materials and the access to certain things are more existent for the things that are in those other schools versus not here,” here at St Cloud, we offer mixed classes so you'll have someone whose advanced with someone who’s never taken an acting class, which makes it a little more complicated to figure out lesson plans. Not only does Ms. Chamberlain have to create a curriculum for one class, but one for each level that is offered. This is also her first year at SCHS, therefore she had to come up with all of it as soon as possible. She didn’t have much time to prep and couldn’t reuse what she taught last year because she didn't teach theater last year.

      This is the least of her challenges when it comes to her job. As previously mentioned, traditionally two mainstage productions are done every year. There are a number of tech departments that need overseeing when it comes to these productions: hair, makeup, costumes, run crew, carpentry, sound, lighting, stage management, and props. It’s the job of the director (in this case Ms. Chamberlain) to make sure all of this is in order and see usually there are two teachers, one for all the tech committees just mentioned and one for overseeing the actors, their performance, and telling them what to do. In the past SCHS had one teacher in charge of both acting and tech, which is a lot for one person alone. When taking on so many tasks it can get really complicated really fast, “So if you're somebody who... tends to be indecisive or, you know, again, struggles with consistent communication and organization is probably not the thing for you, because it's definitely a balancing act of making sure that you have all the pieces moving and moving towards the right place, if that makes sense.” It’s a lot of responsibility and the end product depends on the director, like active theater member Tyler Curtis, says “I think again, it's, you know, there's no one to fall back on. You know, it's your production, you're running it. So, you know, you hold the responsibility of everything. If you know, the show is bad. People mostly going to blame you and not the people in the show. And I think that can be very daunting to people.” It’s not only the director’s fault when a show doesn’t reach its full potential and isn’t as good as it can be, the students are a very important part of making the show what it is but it’s really easy to use the director as a scapegoat for its problems. Another active student of the theater company Jeffrey Barnett says it best “having to balance multiple jobs on one plate. not only are you directing productions, but you also have to worry about classes, tickets, the state of the equipment, other events and sponsors, what to do if I'm having to operate everything on my own, what can we do, what can we not do, being there for each other while also being there for yourself. This can create tons of stress, burnout, and difficulty.”

      Clearly this job is not meant for everyone and that's evident through the revolving door of theatre teachers there have been at SCHS in the past couple of years. The cause of them no longer teaching lies in a multitude of reasons. An easy one to point out is simply a teacher not being qualified, with tech theater, you need to know not only how to work with sound equipment, but also how to teach it effectively to students to the point where the students can do it on their own independently. Knowing just sound is not enough, you also need to be effective in the 8 other tech departments ( light, sound, carpentry, etc.), or at least have a decent amount of knowledge in each one. This is not something you can just wing and figure out as you go, it requires a lot of previous experience to truly be effective and give the students a great experience. According to Tyler Curtis, “you might be very good in one field of theatre but directing is a whole other thing, you know, and the same goes for tech directing.”

      It could also be the fact that high school is a completely different environment with its own challenges, you'll never really know till you're there actually in it. Another theatre student whose been doing theatre since her freshman year Serenity “Ziggy” Reyes has said “ Like working with high schoolers can come with its ups and downs and we have had issues in the past with students, and you know sometimes the teachers in the past have no idea how to handle it or just not comfortable handling it.” Sometimes it’s not the fact that you’re not qualified or don’t have the right skills, sometimes it’s the kind of teacher you are. Like our current theatre teacher, Ms. Chamberlain, who said, “if you're somebody who... tends to be indecisive or, you know, again, struggles with consistent communication and organization this is probably not the thing for you, because it's definitely a balancing act of making sure that you have all the pieces moving and moving towards the right place, if that makes sense.”

      With constant planning, rehearsals, performances, long hours, and multiple projects, it’s easy to see how a person can crack under all that stress and responsibility. Not everyone is built the same, and we all process things differently. If you don’t plan ahead, work well on your feet, adapt well, have a good support system, and a positive mindset, it’s very easy for the program to fall apart.

      Speaking of positive mindset, how you act and behave has a huge impact on everyone else in the theatre company. If you're not feeling well and you take that out on the kids or if you are toxic/caustic, that makes everyone else will feel bad which causes the kids not to do well which causes the whole rehearsal process to slow down which is never good. Having to do this all alone, like said, is no easy task and can be another reason for leaving “So I could see for someone who was in this position alone before and trying to also run technical theater on top of it. Like, it's an impossible job. Like, so, like, I can understand where there's been that turnover for some of the teachers in the past that way where like they had probably like three full-time jobs on their shoulders of. Having to balance tech and acting at the same time. and acting for one person and classes. Right? It's tough. And so, it's just... It's not even the fact that like, oh, they didn't know what they were doing or it's just. No, no, it's really, truly just having enough time in the day to go home, you also have time for yourself.”- Ms. Chamberlain. There is a plethora of reasons that this job has made some teachers in the past leave it’s different from teacher to teacher, it depends on the person. This job is not one size fits all but once it finds its size it is truly something amazing.

      The school’s theatre company is experiencing something it hasn’t in the last 3 years, and for the first time in a while it is finally heading in the right direction. Ms. Chamberlain is someone who genuinely knows what she’s talking about and has all the traits needed to be an amazing director. According to her, “Luckily, I'm a good person with managing stress. I have a good support system and that makes it easier for me. Also, I'm a pretty organized person and I'm good at delegating. I've been really leaning on people when I can.” She also comes from a background of teaching and heavy tech/acting. What more could you want? While interviewing her I really got a peek into her brain and her plans of what she wants to do, it's very promising. She has a new fresh perspective that hasn’t been seen in the theater world, a huge focus on education and inclusivity, she wants to teach the kids valuable lessons and prepare them for the real-world, while also giving everyone a chance to do it. She is ready to teach and grow the company, luckily and so are the kids. “I'm really optimistic about what the future looks like because I think we have a lot of people who are really invested in starting a legacy for the program and really committing to the idea of just making things better. They're going to plant the seed. There's a lot of people that are willing to put in that work just for it to be better because they want better They want to pass it down.

      "In addition to Ms. Chamberlain being our acting teacher, SCHS has a new technical theater teacher, Mr. Castle, who is just as important and as amazing. Them working together is great combination of talent and skill that is sure to move this company forward in the right direction, “with Miss Chamberlain at the helm of this program and now adding in Mister Castle I think this program really has a positive future ahead of itself. I think people will be flocking to join this theater company.”-Serenity “Ziggy” Reyes, a member of leadership. The students are hungry and ready to work; they’ve been starved of genuine high-quality theatre and are willing to do what they need to do to get there. Something new this year is student leadership, which has been a major help in growing and strengthening the company. The future is bright because with the help of leadership like Jeffery Barnet, who said, “We have been rebuilding and reshaping areas of the company that didn’t What more could you want; the best and turning it into something really beneficial. All of our minds and hearts are in the same spot on where we want to see this company grow and thrive and that’s something that’s been having me think of a hopeful future.” Many are thrilled to see the company grow because theater means a lot to everyone. Theater is something that helps students learn and grow in so many ways and even if they don’t pursue it after high school. It can leave a major impact on them as a person and help them in the future. ” Tyler Curtis states “It's definitely made me a better person you know. Just you know I get to see so many different people all day. I get to talk to people that I would never talk to on my own. And like it really helps me bond with people. I've met some of my best friends through theater. I've showed my best friend's theater and it's like there's so many positive experiences that I've had because of it. ". “It has affected me in so many ways giving me opportunities to feel seen as a person, achieve my dreams, and learn about new people, new arts, new stories. What theatre means to me, it means magical. I feel it has yourself and others immersed into worlds that are familiar or that you’ve never thought possible but now is. It brings a sorta possibility to what could be and what can be through the artistry of the actors, the tech, and story. I think it could also mean connectable as stories and characters can be examples of ourselves, people we know, stories we know and how we are able to feel with characters or seen them within ourselves and I think those two things are what theatre means to me."-Jeffrey Barnett.

      Theatre is something that is so important to the students here at St. Cloud and now with the right teachers to guide us, everyone is so excited for the amazing productions that will come soon and everything that will follow thereafter

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