Open Forum

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 Josh Kauffman, Troupe Director for Troupe 6682 at Winfield City High School in Winfield, Alabama. Josh is a newer theatre teacher and troupe director, but he’s no stranger to the stage. He’s served in a variety of roles on and off the stage and is quickly becoming a respected contributor in our Community.

Ginny: I understand you’re originally from New York. What brought you to Alabama?

Josh: My wife and I moved from Manhattan to the Winfield, Alabama community in 2010. Our two goals were to raise a family (we were five weeks pregnant at the time) and to start a theatre company. Winfield is a small town with its own school district. There was no theatre class in the schools, no theatre program in the community, and the nearest theatrical production was over an hour’s drive away. What Winfield did have was a renovated movie house smack in the middle of downtown, and with the partnership of the theatre’s board we formed our company and began producing plays that summer. 

I like to believe that we created an awareness and a need in the community, which led to the school district's decision three years later to hire a theatre teacher and start a program at the high school. I applied and was hired, and began the process of being certified to teach. Now, six years after our move from New York, Self Express Productions puts on four full length plays a year, as well as a summer workshop and a January awards show, and just started a series of dance and performance classes. The Winfield City High School theatre program does a Fall Scene Night variety show and a full length spring play each year, and is looking to expand this year with field trips and a regional high school drama contest hosted at our school. 

A shot from the Fall Scene Night Variety Show.

Ginny: Why do you believe theatre is important?

Josh: I think high school theatre is just as important for the students who don’t intend to make a career of it as it is for those who want to be professional actors. Theatre education is about creating a safe place for students to be themselves, which is an environment that seems to be increasingly less available these days. It’s also about training kids to think quickly, communicate clearly, and work well with others. Those are skills that apply to any job or relationship. Being in theatre has taught me empathy and given me the freedom to feel and express emotions, both of which have made me a better teacher, husband, and father. Theatre is about giving these kids the skills they need to enjoy their lives more fully.

Ginny: What inspired you to become a teacher?

Josh: It was far from a life-long dream! I used to swear there were three things I’d never be: a father, a morning person, and a teacher. Now, I’m all three (and I love it).

The desire to teach was a natural progression once we settled into our Alabama home. This place is fiercely devoted to its children, and as we settled in to our production and workshop schedule, the kids just ate it up. It was fulfilling to see the eagerness in them, and as the years started to pass and we saw the “before” and “after” of these shy kids developing into eager, self-expressed teenagers, I welcomed the opportunity to work with them in a more structured way. The hardest part was when these kids who had been calling me by my first name had to train themselves to call me “Mr. Kauffman” when I became their teacher instead of their director or cast mate.

Ginny: What is the most important advice you can offer to new theatre teachers?

Josh: Get mentorship. I still sometimes feel like I’m building the plane as I’m flying it, with no copilot. This community has been invaluable in getting ideas, support, and the wisdom of others’ experience. It’s also important to stay in touch with the other teachers in my own school, to get hip to the culture of my staff and local community.

Ginny: What is your greatest challenge currently?

Josh:  Maintaining and growing my program is the biggest hurdle this year. I teach English at the middle school and travel to the high school at the end of the day for my theatre class. Last year, my whole day was at the high school, which made it more convenient to schedule club meetings, get together with students outside of class, and coordinate with the principal and my colleagues. This year, I’m off campus at the time of day when high school club meetings are scheduled. This means my students are running the meeting themselves, in the room of another teacher. It is more challenging to be as ‘present’ as I feel like I should be. With my theatre program just entering its third year, I’ve been struggling for support in the face of established extracurriculars like football, cheer, and band. My program is growing as my physical presence is shrinking, and I’m having trouble reconciling that.

Ginny: What does a typical day look like for you?

Josh: I usually get up at around five and wake up slowly with the cat and a big glass of water. I spend the hour and a half before I leave for school arranging my lessons for the day or doing some last minute grading, then it’s off to school. I teach English in the morning, and my theatre class is the last period of the day after my planning period, which is a setup I really enjoy. After school, I drive my kindergarten-aged daughter home and usually enjoy some afternoon playtime with her and my two-year-old. My evening is often occupied with rehearsal for whatever show is happening currently, after which I come home and unwind with my family until bedtime.

Ginny: Have you found a way to achieve a good work/life balance?

Josh: I’m still working on it, but I definitely recommend evening rehearsals instead of meeting right after school. That way, I can enjoy some daytime hours and some play time with my kids. My students like it too, since they can still do after-school practices for band or sports. I also make sure to cook meals with my family as often as I can. 

Ginny: What is the resource you most recommend to other teachers?

Josh: This one.

Ginny: What is your favorite musical (or play)? What makes it so special? 

Josh: I have a bunch, but I’ll narrow it to three. Guys and Dolls was one of my favorite movie musicals as I was growing up, and it was also the first major musical I ever got to perform in. I think The Importance of Being Earnest is one of the most well written plays in the English language, and I’ve never seen a bad production of it. Another one that I enjoy every time is Arsenic and Old Lace, which I love for its pace, big characters, and simple-yet-surprising plot.

Ginny: What was the first play you ever saw?

Josh: I forget how old I was, but it was pretty young. My grandmother took us to see a production of Peter Pan. The thing I remember most was that Tinkerbell was ‘played’ by a tight-beam follow spot and a jingling bell sound. Little me was amazed.

Ginny: What playwright would you love to have lunch with?

Josh: I know a lot of people these days will say the same thing, but I would love to sit down with Lin-Manuel Miranda. We saw his first show, In the Heights, on Broadway, and fell in love with his unique expression. I’d love to just sort of osmose (that’s a verb form of osmosis) the seemingly effortless way his message finds form in meaningful words. It’s nearly impossible to read his work aloud without feeling something, which is a skill I, as a writer, would love to build.

Ginny: What was the most difficult element of a production you’ve ever had to manage?

Josh: Our stage here in Winfield is a converted movie house that was built in 1935 and converted to a performance space at the turn of the 21st century. The space is about 24 feet wide and 17 feet deep, with next to no wing space, even less backstage space, and no fly loft. Set design is our biggest challenge, especially if a show has more than one location. To fit big shows into this small space, we have had to fuse carpentry with origami, finding as many ways as we can to fold, collapse, spin, or otherwise transform our set pieces. I’d almost be afraid of a larger space at this point, because our “limitations” have done wonders for our creative problem-solving skills.

Winfield’s first full-length, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie.

Ginny: Everyone has at least one good theatre story (a costume mishap, smoke alarms during performances, malfunctioning set pieces, etc). Tell us yours!

Josh: Our first school show included a character slapping another, so during one rehearsal I stopped to train the two actors involved in safe stage violence. The girl in the scene is the daughter of a dear friend and almost like one of my own kids, so we already had a trust level that let me demonstrate the slap with her for her male counterpart. After showing them the basics and stressing the precautions, I hauled off and “slapped” the girl with a perfect, ringing nap and a very convincing reaction from the actress. Not everyone in the room was paying attention to our lesson, so one girl who was sitting behind the actress thought I had actually smacked her across the face. It took the rest of the rehearsal for her to get her tears, and then her laughter, under control.

Ginny: What is unique about your theatre program?

Josh: Being the drama club sponsor AND a producer of the local community theatre, I’m able to provide a huge number of opportunities for my students, and both programs feed and support each other. While I require they be involved in the high school shows to be inducted as Thespians, they can still get points for all the community theatre activities, since I’m still supervising and mentoring them.

The first group of Thespian inductees from November 2015.

Ginny: What is your proudest accomplishment?

Josh: This is a hard question! The more I think about it, though, I think my proudest accomplishment is marrying my wife. Through her I have my two little girls and our wonderful home, which we chose to be near her family. We produce theatre together, and while I design set and lighting and sound, she designs costumes and makeup and props. I could not have the life I have without her.

Ginny: What is something we would be surprised to learn about you?

Josh: My surprises aren’t as surprising to me anymore, so I take them for granted. Some bullet points:

* I lived in New York on 9/11.

* I once shared a bite of my grandmother’s meat loaf with Morgan Freeman.

* I was in the regional premiere of Titanic: The Musical.

* The only bone I’ve ever broken was my brother’s collarbone.

It sounds like Josh has created a plethora of opportunities for his students, as well as worked hard to further his own professional development and hone his craft. If you enjoyed Josh’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.