One of the main goals for our
Theatre Education Community is to help theatre students and professionals from
all over connect and identify with each other in order to build resources and
support the theatre education field. We shine a spotlight on a different member
every other week by conducting a simple interview.
Our latest Spotlight Member is Jym
Kinney, Troupe Director for Troupe 821 at Clover Park High School in Lakewood,
Washington. Jym
has been involved in the Community for over a year now, establishing himself as
a supportive and thoughtful contributor.
Ginny: Why do you believe theatre is important?
Jym: From the very
beginning, theatre has been a means to teach about the human condition. It has
always been used to describe the internal thoughts and ideas that make us who
we are. We are well aware that our Western tradition can be traced to the
Ancient Greeks, who used theatre to reinforce culture and understanding of
proper behavior. Our modern tradition is traced to morality plays, where
theatre was reborn after being suppressed for centuries due to the moralities
exhibited in the Roman era deemed inappropriate by the Roman Catholic Church. In
the Eastern tradition, it consistently maintained its role as a means to teach
and discuss moral and ethical lessons.
Ginny: What inspired you to become a teacher?
Jym: In high school
(sometime during the last century), it was obvious that my teachers loved their
jobs. Knowing I was going to spend most of my life working at some job, it
needed to be something that could be enjoyed. Seeing their enthusiasm when
students began to understand, and having some hint of that while working with
other students and helping them with algebra and geometry sealed the deal for
me. Teaching became my goal. Teaching Theatre in addition to Math came some
years later.
Ginny: What is the most important advice you can offer to brand
new teachers?
Jym: I just finished
my second year teaching, so the ‘brand new’ tag nearly fits me as well. My
mentor teacher told me that she learned a few ideas from me, her student
teacher, that she would use herself. It was her 35th year of teaching, and she
had already decided that she was going to retire that year. This taught me two
things. First, there is always more that can be learnt about teaching. Secondly,
you may not have experience, but your ideas still have value. Don’t let anyone
tell you otherwise.
Ginny: What does a typical day look like for you?
Jym: Half an hour
before the first bell, there are generally one or two students, waiting for me
at the door to my classroom. Sometimes just as a place to gather before the
day, sometimes wanting help with math or science classes. I arrived one day
with only 25 minutes before the bell and they had written some 20 notes and
slipped them under the door trying to get my attention, thinking I was in the
room and ignoring them. After a full day of teaching, it’s on to rehearsal,
tutoring, planning the next event, or the ever dreaded meeting. Hopefully, my
planning period will have been sufficient for grading and preparing for the
upcoming days, although this rarely happens. Essentially, I work half days in
planning, teaching (Physics and Grade 9 Science this year), and directing. A
half day being 12 hours. Celebrating student success is the motivator that
keeps me going until summer hibernation.
Ginny: What is the resource you most recommend to other teachers?
Jym: Find a slightly
more experienced teacher that still loves teaching in your building. Have coffee,
lunch, or adult beverages with them at least once per month. Adult time is a
vital coping mechanism.
Ginny: What is your favorite musical (or play)? What makes it so
special?
Jym: When working on a
production, it’s whatever we are producing. There is always some new nugget
that gets uncovered during rehearsals and script analysis that makes the play
even more interesting each day. Between productions, I couldn’t choose a single
favorite. Among musicals, it’s Into the Woods. The plot is nicely woven
together to try and answer the question, “What might life really be like when
the ‘happily ever after’ part of the story ends?” Add to that Stephen
Sondheim’s music and lyrics, which are simply elegant, sometimes hauntingly
beautiful, and poignant. Among dramas, it’s the Bard’s own King Lear. The
intertwined stories of lives being destroyed by greed and restored by love are
simultaneously tragic and hopeful. For comedy, it’s a tie between Charley’s
Aunt by Brandon Thomas, Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni, and
Comedy of Errors by Uncle Will. I enjoy the complications that come from
mistaken identities and entangling loyalties.
Ginny: What was the first play you ever saw?
Jym: I can barely
remember what I had for lunch. (Did I have lunch today?) The first play I can
remember seeing live was a high school production of A Zoo Story by
Edward Albee. As the production rights for that are now available for
professional groups only, my idea of having that show played by identical
twins, who change parts between each performance, will have to keep simmering
in the “maybe someday” category.
Ginny: Everyone has at least one good theatre story (a costume
mishap, smoke alarms during performances, malfunctioning set pieces, etc). Tell
us yours!
Jym: My first production
as a Troupe Director was …a starting point. One actor had to be cut three days
before opening. But that wasn’t the worst of it. For our second performance,
one of the actors decided to go to a college/job fair on the same day. Call
time was 1:30 p.m., he didn’t make it. Actors scrambled for a plan to cover for
him. Curtain was at 3:00 p.m., he wasn’t there. His entrance came at 3:25 p.m.,
the Stage Manager told me he arrived at 3:20 p.m. The other actors let him go on
…barely. They also kept him away from me for as long as possible.
Ginny: What is unique about your theatre program?
Jym: I can tell you
our challenges, but am not sure if any of them, or a combination of them makes
us unique. We have no theatre or drama
class at my school. Use of the
Performing Arts Center is managed by District Operations, who can take use of
the space with hours or minutes of notice.
This means any set pieces need to be struck before the next school day. The stage is used to sort and store large
objects or shipments as it has the only a roll-up door and large floor area. The space is rented every Sunday to a local
church, any set pieces left up Friday night have to be struck on Saturday. There seems a small electrical flaw in the
lighting control system so that some dimmer channels don’t work, and sometimes
the entire system stops working without notice.
The installed sound system usually works, but there was one time that
turning on the phantom power gave our technician an electric shock. All these challenges aside, we have amazingly
dedicated Thespians, committed to improving their art using minimal sets,
props, and technical support. They
inspire me on a daily basis.
Ginny: Name something on your bucket list.
Jym: A 5 gallon food
grade plastic bucket (used for making fruit wine and/or soda). Did I take that
question too literally?
Ginny: If you could have a different career, what would you
choose?
Jym: And give up all
this? Truthfully, it took me 31 years after graduating high school to become a
teacher myself. I’ve had other careers, but this is the one I want. Although
having the pay from my last career would be nice… Teaching is the career of my
dreams.
Ginny: How do you relax after a busy day?
Jym: The end of a busy
day usually involves an attempt at having family time, and finding myself being
awakened for a meal or being told to go into the bedroom instead of snoring on
the couch.
Ginny: What is your proudest accomplishment?
Jym: On May 30, 2016,
after our first full year as a reinstated troupe, we held our First Annual
Thespian Awards Night. Over 25 years earlier, I discussed dreams about being
involved in Theatre Education with my college girlfriend (now my bride of 23
years). It was truly evidence of a dream come true.
Ginny: Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of
theatre/writing?
Jym: Cycling. Not as
much as it once was, being hampered from injuries caused by a careless driver.
Ginny: What is something we would be surprised to learn about you?
Jym: I retired from
the U.S. Navy Reserve three years ago, and still can’t swim.
Ginny: What is your favorite part of the day?
Jym: Rehearsal time. As
I continue to age, nap time, which is currently second, has been closing the
gap.
Ginny: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you go
and why?
Jym: Scotland, the country
that gave us golf, Simple Minds (“Don’t You Forget About Me”), Ewan MacGregor,
David Tennant, Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, Lord Kelvin,
Alexander Fleming, and so many other artists and geniuses. Edinburgh is home to
the world’s largest arts festival. The basis of our Declaration of Independence
and public education system came from the Scottish Enlightenment. Add to all that
history and tradition, kilts, family heritage, and the relatively short drive
it would be to see the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon or the
filming of Doctor Who at BBC Cardiff.
Ginny: What toy do you most remember from your childhood?
Jym: As much as I miss
Yogi and Boo-Boo (my teddy bears), it has to be my LEGO® bricks. If
you’ve seen “The LEGO® Movie,” there are accusations that Benny was
based on me.
Ginny: Tell us about the best day of your life.
Jym: Hoping that my
best day hasn’t happened, yet. There have been many wonderful, fabulous days…
marrying my bride; the birth of our daughter; walking again after three months
in a wheelchair; becoming a teacher; our first Thespian Awards night; and, that
one day where our family celebrated the triple red letter day of our 21st
wedding anniversary, me graduating with a Master’s of Education, and my bride
graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (cum laude). If my best day is behind me,
I’m not living right. Beethoven once wrote, “The true artist […] is sad not to
have reached that point to which his better genius only appears as a distant,
guiding sun.”
Jym’s hard work, colorful history
and inspirational nature undoubtedly serve his students and school well. With
only two years of teaching under his belt, we’re excited to see what else he
will accomplish. If you enjoyed Jym’s interview as much as I did, add him as a
contact in the
Community!
Do you know someone who deserves
a moment in the Spotlight? Tell me their name and why at gbutsch@schooltheatre.org. Want to read more Community
Spotlights? You can find
them here.