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 Brian Bozanich, the Director of Theatre and Troupe Director at Maumee Valley Country Day School in Toledo, Ohio, home to Thespian Troupe 8553. Brian has creative and practical advice for other community members, whether it involves making an elephant dance, converting a cafetorium into a theatre or locating a Teaching Theatre article from twenty years ago!
Why do you believe theatre is important?
Theatre is an overt act of community. It calls on people (the production team) to come together to prepare something as a gift for others (the audience).
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Saint Joseph High School, Lakewood, CA
What is your greatest challenge?
Time. Full stop. The other elements of the job, talent and money, will ebb and flow. Time is relentless.
What does a typical day look like for you?
Teach. Rehearse. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.
Tell us about the best day of your career.
March 16, 2012. We held a benefit performance of Once on This Island for an alumna who was killed in a car accident. I saw my original 2004 student cast meet our 2012 revival cast. It was amazing to see the connection to each other and the piece. “Out of what we live and we believe, our lives become the stories that we weave.”
What is the resource you most recommend to others in your profession?
Read business books. Todd Henry, The Accidental Creative. Seth Godin, Linchpin. These help you understand best practices beyond the classroom.
Any tips for new theatre teachers?
Sleep is more important than a second coat of paint.
Senior Circle prior to Love’s Labour’s Lost, Saint Joseph High School, Lakewood, CA
What is the best advice anyone has ever given to you?
“If things go wrong, we already have their ticket money.” It was said during a concert where tech was failing badly. It helps me manage the stress of mistakes.
What is the weirdest stage food you’ve ever made or eaten?
Rabbit Tacos. Do not recommend.
What is your favorite musical (or play)? What makes it so special?
Musical: Once on This Island, it’s a story about stories. Play: The Diviners, a story of community with humor and tragedy.
What was the first play you ever saw?
Treasure Island as a school performance in the third grade.
What was the first role you ever played?
Santa Claus, first grade. I still know my one line.
What inspired you to become a teacher?
I always knew. Inspired by both my best and worst teachers, to be there for students discovering theatre.
Big Fish, Maumee Valley Country Day School
What playwright would you love to have lunch with? Tell us a question you’d ask them.
Samuel Beckett. I would argue with him about the inflexibility of his text. Why must your plays become museum pieces instead of responding to the world?
Tell us about the moment that made you decide to get involved in theatre.
I can’t find a moment. I was an eager volunteer at age 5 and I never left. Forty-five years.
What is unique about your program?
Our target is different. I am looking to create good theatre, not just good school theatre. We present with honesty and high standards.
What was the most difficult element of a production you’ve ever had to manage?
For Seussical, in the round, we had a 30’ x 30’ canvas tarp that raised and lowered multiple times in the show to create a circus tent-like environment for Whoville.
What would you consider your biggest failure and what did you learn from it?
I won’t name the show, former students are here. I had a show where I allowed the casting controversy to fester in the cast. Now, I try to address negative responses to casting immediately.
Everyone has at least one good theatre story. Tell us yours!
During my 2008 production of Seussical, my cast passed around the worst flu ever during show week. I still refer to it as “the show about the plague.” Opening night, my Jojo was incredibly sick and other cast members feared she might pass out. I asked her to look in my eyes and tell me she could make her next entrance for “It’s Possible.” She shook her head. So… Jojo left the stage as a shorter Filipino girl and returned as a taller African-American girl. The best part, The Cat, who had not left the stage, simply said “Oh, look, a new Jojo” and continued without a hiccup.
Name something on your bucket list.
To visit the Lego factory.
If you could have a different career, what would you choose?
Toy and game design.
How do you relax after a busy day?
Netflix. I like to consume well-crafted stories.
What is your proudest accomplishment?
My offspring. They are incredible human beings.
Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of theatre?
I am a Lego, Roller Coaster, Hockey, and Theatre fan. I include the last one because, beyond being a practitioner, I enjoy theatre on its own as well.
What is something we would be surprised to learn about you?
I lived in Hawaii for two and a half years (graduate school at University of Hawaii at Manoa).
What is your favorite part of the day?
The 15 minutes between classes and rehearsal. The arrival of the team, ready to work and the buzz of excitement about what the day will bring.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
Japan. I would like to see the Bunraku Za live.
What toy do you most remember from your childhood?
Lego (as you may have guessed.) It offers infinite possibilities.
If you enjoyed Brian’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.