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 plan to shine a
spotlight on a different member every other week by conducting a simple
interview.
Our latest
Spotlight Member is Bryan Ringsted, troupe director of Troupe 7618 at Leigh High
School in San Jose, CA, home of the world’s only unicorn-powered
lighting grid (but I’ll let him tell you more about that). Bryan has the
perfect balance of humor and sensible advice, reflected in the interview below.
Photograph
via Travel + Leisure Asia
Ginny: Why do you
believe theatre is important?
Bryan: Theater
opens our lives to the perspectives of others we may have never
encountered. It allows students in high school to literally (with
costumes at least) walk in another’s shoes. I truly believe that students
learn more about themselves by studying how others think, act, and react to the
world around them. Theater is applied psychology, and every student of theater
gains a deeper understanding of human nature and thought through their theater
training.
Ginny: What is your
greatest challenge?
Bryan: Doing it
all and knowing that I can’t. It’s hard to find good help these days
isn’t it? As a one man department I have to mentor students in every area
of design (even the ones I’m bad at). I keep trying to hire coaches to work
with them, but I either find a teacher who has no content knowledge, or (more
often) a content knowledge rich adult with no teaching ability. I never
thought what I did would be so impossible for anyone else to do. Theater
teachers are a rare breed indeed.
Ginny: What is the
resource you most recommend to others in your profession?
Bryan: Step 1:
Get money (though CTE, ROP, PERKINS, local grants, boosters, whatever)
Step 2: Find professionals who want to “give back”
(early retirement is nice here) or college kids who are “desperate for money.”
Step 3: Hire people to do everything you suck at (for
me it’s dancing, musicianship for musical theater, and various tech areas).
Step 4: Teach them how to teach others.
Step 5: Sleep more (I haven’t found out how to do
this…but good luck!).
Ginny: What is the weirdest
food you’ve ever made or eaten?
Bryan: In
Taipai’s street market: Grilled squid on a stick. They literally asked me
which one I wanted, speared it while still alive, and it was still twitching
when they threw it on the grill. Good 5 minutes, but the next 5 hours
were terrible.
Ginny: What was the
first role you ever played?
Bryan: I played
Teddy in Arsenic and Old Lace. I’ve been a bit crazy ever since (hence my
chosen career).
Ginny: Tell us about
the moment that made you decide to get involved in theatre.
Bryan: I was a
super nerd (all A’s) in High School who wanted to be a jock. I tried out for
football and wanted to wrestle. On a routine checkup my doctor told me I
had a congenital heart defect and I would never play football again. I
said, “Well, I guess I have free time, so I’ll try out for the play.”
From the moment I charged into the basement and carried that dead body with me
(see previous question), I was totally hooked. I spent my early years of
Junior High and High School wishing I could be someone else, and now I could!
Ginny: What is unique
about your program?
Bryan: Every
lighting fixture is powered by imprisoned, tiny unicorns on treadmills. But
seriously folks…I’m passionate about student leadership. I only direct 1
show/year. Everything else has student directors, designers, actors, tech crew,
publicity people, and everything else. If a student can legally do it,
they do it at Leigh High School. Coaches (including me) are just there to
make sure nothing explodes, offer advice, and stop problems before they become
problems.
Ginny: What was the
most difficult element of a production you’ve ever had to manage?
Bryan: 200+
lighting cues in Bury the dead with 6 moving fixtures (I’d never programmed a
mover before…YIKES). I thought my SM would have an aneurism calling the
show.
Ginny: If you could
have a different career, what would you choose?
Bryan: My family
always told me I could be a lawyer. I’m really convincing, so I truly
believe that somewhere in the negaverse there is an evil duplicate of me that
practices law. I’m pretty sure he’s a complete and utter tool and drives
a beamer.
Ginny: Do you have
any hobbies or interests outside of theatre?
Bryan: I swing
dance, do HEMA (Historic European Martial Arts), play board games
(obsessively), attend Anime and board game conventions, and generally just do
really geeky stuff. Oh, and go to Ren faire and play D&D. I’m such a
nerd….
Ginny: What is
something we would be surprised to learn about you?
Bryan: I have a
pacemaker (which I got when I was 16) and my girlfriend says I have ADD (I just
say I’m energetic and immortal).
Ginny: If you could
live anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
Bryan: I’d retire
by the beach (Hawaii or the like). Right now I’d be too distracted by it to
work. I love the sea with a passion. Yarg!
Bryan seems as eager
to learn from his peers as he is to help them, demonstrated by this fantastic Parent Volunteer Guide he created
(if you’ve ever wondered how to use parent volunteers, this is the perfect
place to start). If you enjoyed Bryan’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.