“[Theater] helped me [to] not go into a little box.

I had done a little bit of theater in middle school and I liked [it]. [But] I didn’t realize at that time how important theater would ultimately become [to me]. It helped me not pigeonhole myself in terms of focusing on just one academic discipline [like math or science].

As an eleventh grader, I took an advanced acting class, [and] then as a twelfth grader, I took an advanced directing class. [Those] were very student-driven classes. [There] was a group of students who were selected to be the directors and then they would select shows to direct. [The directors and actors] would work together with the technicians to really put the student production together [and] that was so much fun to be a part of.

[With] theater, [the] show isn’t good [immediately] because magically at the last minute everything clicks. The show is good because over time, you worked and [you] identified what needed to be improved. [I] think that having a chance to experience that, whether it’s in theater or something else, with a group of peers as a high school student is irreplaceable.

The hardest part [about theater] is being pushed out of your comfort zone. [Even though it is ultimately good for you], being pushed out of your comfort zone at first can be a little bit disconcerting. You do have to accept a certain amount of vulnerability that goes with being on stage and that can take a little bit of time.

I loved the way the different departments at the school [came] together. My theater friends were involved with the musical, but so were the kids in the music program and the kids in the choir program. [We] came together to work together and put on a show. I just really loved that collaborative vibe.

[The] human element, the storytelling that goes with it, how everything contributes to the storytelling and then getting to know the stories behind the people who are putting the story on stage together with you [are the most fun parts about theater for me].

I’m naturally a bit of an introverted person, [and] by doing acting and directing, I think that really helped me [to] not just get outside of my comfort zone but [also] meet people I wouldn’t have met otherwise and become familiar with their perspectives and become friends with those people.

I fell in love with my wife doing a show [called the Mustache] with her in college.

We were doing a two person show together [and] I got to see her almost every day for rehearsals.

[Getting] to know people who are in the shows you’re in, there’s some kind of camaraderie that exists within that, [that] is rare and special.