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 Corey Ragan, a Thespian Alum and the Troupe Director of Troupe 3323
at Groveport Madison High School in Groveport, Ohio. Corey is just wrapping up his
first year teaching theatre and has relied on the collective wisdom of the
Community for general advice and support as well as contributed his own ideas
and recommendations.
Ginny: Why
do you believe theatre is important?
Corey: Theatre has always been incredibly
important. I have made some of my best friends and even met my fiancée in high
school theatre. Theatre is a place for an eclectic group of people to form
a family, have fun, and create beautiful works of art. This year is my first
year of teaching and I directed Godspell (2012 Revised Edition) for our
spring musical. I chose the show because of the beautiful community that is
formed during the show. I had no idea the impact the show would have on my
students. We have a small, but mighty, company and the first rehearsal during
which we staged the Crucifixion was unforgettable. By the end of the song,
every student had broken down in tears because of the raw emotion that they
were exhibiting onstage. We ended rehearsal early and spent two hours sharing
why the show was affecting them so strongly. Students shared what the community
in the show and the friendships they were forging with each other meant and why
they were important. The things they shared blew me away. My students shared
stories that no person should have to experience and told us that the
relationships being developed were what was helping them survive. Giving
students a safe space to express themselves and support one another is what
theatre is all about and why it is so important.
Ginny: What
inspired you to become a teacher?
Corey: Over the course of my
educational career, I was fortunate enough to have some of the most incredible
educators I have ever met, particularly my theatre teachers. In high school,
theatre was a way that I really discovered who I was and what I was passionate
about. From my first show, I became OBSESSED! My theatre teachers in high
school went to great lengths to provide us with the best experiences possible
and I knew that I wanted to provide the same to my own students someday. If I
had to pick one specific event that inspired me to become a teacher, I would
say that the moment I took my first bow onstage at the Edinburgh Fringe
Festival as a senior in high school, I knew that I wanted to bring a group of students
back to the festival someday.
Ginny: What
is your favorite musical (or play)? What makes it so special?
Corey: Who’s Afraid of Virginia
Woolf is my favorite play of all time. The poisonous George and Martha
dynamic is a relationship that I have been so fascinated by since the first
time that I saw the show. There is just so much that happens in the show, I
truly get something different from it on every read, which is one of the things
that makes it so special. Having been introduced to the show in high school, it
influenced the way that I have read plays my entire life. It has always pushed
me to read between the lines and delve into deep character analysis. I truly
believe that it is a masterpiece.
Ginny: What
is your proudest accomplishment?
Corey: As a first year teacher, one of
my proudest accomplishments would, without a doubt, be surviving my first year.
I came in facing many challenges, but I took them on headfirst and they helped
make me a better educator and director. Producing a four show season and
developing multiple new classes for our curriculum was something I never
expected to do in my first year. But, this year, my proudest moment by far
would be watching my students perform the one act 13 Ways to Screw Up Your
College Interview at the Ohio State Thespian Conference. I have never been
so proud of a group of students and they worked so incredibly hard to make it
happen!
Ginny: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you go and
why?
Corey: This is an extremely cliché
answer, but I would love to live in New York City. The wide range of cultural
opportunities available in the city are absolutely incredible. To have that
much theatre at your fingertips would also be an incredible opportunity. I would love to be able to go to The Drama
Book Shop whenever I want. Plus, it is a
city where truly anything can happen and you could have any number of
adventures.
Ginny: Tell
us about the best day of your life.
Corey: By far the best day of my life
so far would be the day that I proposed to my fiancée. Taking the ring from
Columbus, Ohio to NYC on a Megabus was one of the most stressful things I’ve
ever done, but it was so worth it to be able to propose on a billboard in the
middle of Times Square!
Corey has
accomplished so much his first year and is clearly building strong
relationships within his theatre department. We’re excited to see where the
future will take him! If you enjoyed Corey’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.