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 next spotlight is Jeff Bengford, the Performing Arts Chair and Theatre Director at Westmont High School in Campbell, California, home to Thespian Troupe 2904. Jeff built the now thriving theatre program at Westmont from scratch and after 26 years there, has a wealth of knowledge and resources to share in the Community. Additionally, he serves on the California Thespians state board, so he also has a good deal of information about local events, regulations, and building relationships with other schools.
Why do you believe theatre is important?
Theatre is one of those rare things that is a hobby for some, a pastime for others, a career for many, and a passion for those of us who love it! This ancient art form called Theatre is still alive today because it continues to enrich us all (including my students) as members of a communicative society. In our highly technological world, which is plagued by instant messaging and rampant texting, where daily conversations and antiquated hand-written letters have been reduced to sound bites and emails, live theatre is one of the few opportunities we have left to come together, hear the spoken words of experienced story-tellers, and share a tale in a communal fashion.
What is your greatest challenge?
Keeping a healthy balance between the art I love and my family that I sometimes have to remind myself, I love more.
What does a typical day look like for you?
6:30 up and shower
7:00 Our World in 90 Seconds Channel 5 News with my wife
7:15 get my daughter, Hayley up - feed Daisy, our dog - make lunch & breakfast for both of us
8:00 take Hayley to school, then get myself to school, with daily stops at Home Depot to buy whatever my techs need for the day - singing show tunes all the way there!
9:00 desk work at school
10:00-2:45 work with the most creative, exciting kids on the planet in my classes: A Days: Musical Theatre Combo & Advanced Theatre / B Days: Theatre 1 & Tech 1
2:45-5:00 work with the other most creative, exciting kids on the planet in my Tech Combo class and once I get them going, rehearse whatever show we’re putting on or oversee a student-directed show
5:15-5:45 drive home
5:45-7:30 make & eat dinner with my girls
7:30-9:30 TV & conversations with my girls
9:30 put Hayley to bed
10:00-12:00 office work for whatever is next
12:00 bedtime
Tell us about the best day of your career.
Every day is a great day.
What is the resource you most recommend to others in your profession?
Don’t be an island - get to know the other teachers on your staff and ask them for advice and then invite them to join you on your journeys.
Any tips for new theatre teachers?
Use the Community website!
Balance your season - do shows that will attract kids when you need to build your program.
Make friends with the custodial staff, the main office secretaries, your administration.
Don’t be bashful about tooting your own horn - no one else will!
Make sure the District Office knows about your students’ accomplishments.
What is the weirdest stage food you’ve ever made or eaten?
Cold mashed potatoes on a cone for ice cream at a carnival in a children’s show called The Runaway Merry-Go-Round.
What is your favorite musical (or play)? What makes it so special?
Big Fish and My Favorite Year tie for me - at their core, they are both about family and they are both stories filled with magic.
What was the first play you ever saw?
A Chorus Line- 1st National Tour - 1980 in San Francisco with my high school drama club.
What was the first role you ever played?
Hildy Johnson in The Front Page and I was terrible! It was all about just memorizing lines. My director kept screaming to me about character but I had no idea what she was talking about.
What inspired you to become a teacher?
I like the idea of inspiring others - especially young people - I feel like I can make a difference.
What playwright would you love to have lunch with? Tell us a question you’d ask them.
Aaron Sorkin. “What’s next?”
What is unique about your program?
Our Department provides all students with a place to be themselves; students who “don't fit in" to the regular mold find acceptance in Theatre at Westmont. Our Theatre program prides itself on its welcome policy, which has helped us blossom into a diverse group of students from a wide variety of academic and social backgrounds in classes comprised of a mixture of grade levels (9-12).
In addition to the classes, Westmont Theatre also includes an after-school performance program which produces at least six shows a year, including a fall play, a holiday show, a spring musical, two-three student directed productions and a one act play festival. Our production season is entirely selected by the students. Each May, the Theatre classes pitch 20-30 different plays and musicals to their peers and each class chooses 1 play and 1 musical for a ballot which is then voted on at an open Theatre Club meeting. This exciting, collaborative process has a hidden instructional value in that students learn about 20-30 shows and thus broaden their knowledge of theatre history as they work through the process.
Westmont’s Theatre program is a strong department because the students don’t give up; they keep working on each show until the final blackout of the final performance. Many people have said that we have the “most talented” kids around, but I think ALL kids are talented. As long as students are challenged to do their best and give of themselves at every rehearsal, they will never do a “high school” show, but rather, they will simply do the best show we can.
What was the most difficult element of a production you’ve ever had to manage?
Making 40 feet of real, soaking, splashing rain fall on our stage for Singin’ in the Rain.
Name something on your bucket list.
The year I retire: Lysistrata in the fall & Rocky Horror in the spring - go ahead, fire me now.
If you could have a different career, what would you choose?
Sound Designer.
How do you relax after a busy day?
On a daily basis, making dinner for my girls. I also enjoy taking my dog for a walk.
Annually, the beach is my escape and my "higher power" - every summer, it is essential for me to hear the surge of the surf and smell the ocean to truly rejuvenate - when I stand in front of those crashing waves, I realize, there are so many things much bigger than my little world and that gives me peace.
What is your proudest accomplishment?
Personal: Adopting my beautiful daughter.
Professional: Creating a program from scratch. Year One, I taught one Theatre class and four English classes, now I teach five periods of Theatre and we do a ton of shows every year!
Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of theatre?
Disney! Love the parks & the history of it!
What is your favorite part of the day?
Waking up and getting ready for a theatrical day!
If you enjoyed Jeff’s interview as much as we 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.