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‘How I Spent My Summer Vacation’Teacher Turns Actor In Semi-Pro TroupeTeacher, actor, dancer9 director, choreographer—John Steele stays busy year-round.BY TERRI ANDERSON Most of John Steele’s professional time is spent behind the bright lights of the theatre as director, choreographer and instructor in Plano Senior High School’s drama program.But for 15 hours a day, seven days a week, throughout the summer, Steele once again got the chance to be in front of the lights as an actor in the semi-professional summer stock company, the Straw Hat Players.“All of us in the theatre like to be on the stage sometimes,” said the young actor-teacher. ‘‘I don’t see how a good director can direct and empathize with people on the stage if he hasn’t been up there himself at some time.” Through a contact with a New York actress who also happens to be the Straw Hat Players’ leading lady, Steele was offered the opportunity to spend his summer vacation in Moorehead, Minnesota—a town near the Canadian border—as part of the 40-member stock company.He arrived in Minnesota the day after school was out in Plano and immediately launched into preparations for the company’s nine-week season.All 40 actors and actresses doubled as their own technical crew. The group made all the scenery and sets for the eight different plays crammed into the two-month season.‘‘Everybody worked. There were no prima donnas,” Steele said. ‘‘Three shows were in rehearsal at the same time, and if you weren’t rehearsingyou were building sets.‘‘It was a real good summer because I got to work with good people,” he added. “All I do here (at the senior high) is cast shows and direct, but I was on the other end of it this way.”Well-versed in all areas of the theatre, Steele earned a degree in theatre arts at Texas AM University then went to New York where he studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse and dancing under Peter Genarro and at the Martha Graham Studio.Steele explained that theatre is now ‘‘a way of life” for him, but added that the professional life does have its drawbacks, especially in summer stock.‘‘It doesn’t pay well, and we worked seven days a week from 8 in the morning ’til 11 at night,” he said.The troupe was so busy, that sometimes they even slept in the theatre, which wasn’t so bad since Minnesota was in the midst of a heat wave and the theatre was one of the few places in town equipped with air-conditioning.Visiting summertime conventioneers also caused a few ‘‘interesting moments” for the company. Steele related the story of a group of bankers who, after several hours of “partying,” came to see the Straw Hat Players’ production of “Dark of the Moon ”“The play has some comedy in it but it’s really a drama—a beautiful show' that makes people think,” Steele said“One banker stood up and started shouting obscenities and it got pretty rowdy. It was almost like performing in a joint.”Steele’s students in Plano are impressed by his summer stint as an actor The teacher said that the summer stock experience “added to my credibility” as a theatre teacher He also said he feels his school vacation will help him in his job as PSHS drama teacher and director-choreographer“We did eight shows in nine weeks and I acted in four,” he noted “I got a lot of insight into the recent Broadway shows.”One of the visiting choreographers for the Straw Hat Players was Roger Allen Raby, an actor who served as stand-in for the part of Jesus in Broadway’s “Godspell ” Since that play is PSHS' first production of the year, the pointers Steele gatheredfrom Raby will help in the Plano show“The neat thing about summer stock is that it’s a place where all actors go to learn—to work out thecobwebs and polish up,” Steele summarized. “Summer is not a time off, but it s a time you look forward to. It renews the art of the theatre because you do everything in the world, and that’s what theatre’s all about“Also, a young actor like me can get to play a variety of things It doesn’t limit you like the legitimate, professional theatre You get a chance to play everything .”And apparently, everything Steele did in productions such as “A Man for All Seasons,” ‘The Robber Bridegroom” and “Dark of the Moon” was well received. The company has asked him to return next summer as choreographer
Newspaper Details
Plano Daily Star Courier
Plano, Texas, US
Sun, Sep 11, 1977
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Jennifer M.
USA 10 Feb 2025
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