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Hello TheatrePeople! This week I’m so happy to introduce you to a ‘jack of all trades’ in the world of theatrical performance, Suzanne Maguire. Suzanne is an actor, director, acting coach, and educator, and is also on the Washington State Board of Thespians. She teaches theatre across the nation, working with actors of all ‘ages and stages,’ as she puts it.
I hope you love her interview as much as I did!
Suzanne Maguire, owner and coach of SpokaneActing and theatre director and teacher.
Anatomy of Gray is the type of show that inspires me. Any play (or musical) that can be produced with minimal or simple, creative tech elements focused on characters in a story meant to make us really think, is what inspires me at every level. As an audience member, I appreciate material that subtly presents a challenging theme through interesting characters and a powerful story. As a director/actor, I’m inspired when the focus is on how the actors tell the story more than a show that requires extensive tech elements.
A trip to NYC in 2016 and a totally unexpected opportunity to tour backstage of Hamilton prior to seeing the show the next day—was probably one of my happiest moments. (if a four day trip can be a “moment”)
When I was in high school, our director worked hard to try and involve the school star athletes in our large musicals. We were doing Oliver! and she’d cast a few of the popular football players in small parts. At the end, the guys playing the officer who is supposed to shoot Bill Sykes came on and his prop gun did not shoot the blank. He paused with a shocked look on his face, murmured a choice word and then, very loudly shouted “Bang! Bang!” It drew huge laughs from the audience but the cast hung in there…barely.
I love theatre because it is about relationships. The relationships built within the cast members, production teams, crews and creatives are different than other art forms. The fact that everyone involved also has a relationship with each distinct audience is unique and is why live theatre is so powerful.
BUILDING
Not only does theatre build relationships, but educational theatre specifically builds talent, applicable life-skills, confidence, and opportunities for self-discovery.
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Suzanne is an actor, director, educator and acting coach with over 35 years of theatre experience. Working with actors of all ages and stages, her focus is on the value of applicable skills developed through theatre arts. She is on the state board of WA State Thespians and is a member of the Educational Theatre Association as a teaching artist. Suzanne holds a Theatre Arts endorsement in the state of WA and is Associate Director of Lewis & Clark High School’s Tiger Drama department.
Specializing in practical application of techniques like LMA (Laban Movement Analysis), Suzanne seeks to find each actor’s next best step to achieve their goals. Suzanne has developed and teaches workshops at the local, state and national level on topics ranging from audition prep, cold reading skills, Laban basics, and acting for musical theatre.
Of special interest to current high school students, Suzanne Maguire is also trained as a college and career readiness specialist and has worked with students through the application, audition and financial aid process.
Suzanne is a proud member of Teaching Artist Alliance.
Elaine Bromka: Professional Actress and Teaching Artist – Theatre People
Jonathan Dorf: Playwright – Theatre People
Mitch is the Founding Creative Director of Theatre Avenue, where he designs digital projections for the performing arts. For the last 14 years, Mitch has produced digital content for theatre and ballet companies, universities, and schools internationally. His work ranges from original illustration, animation, and motion design for productions such as Willy Wonka, Swan Lake, Nutcracker, The Wizard of Oz, Annie, Lion King and beyond. Mitch travels the country teaching projection design workshops, conducts virtual learning sessions, publishes media content, and writes for theatre magazines and blogs. Before his dive into the theatrical world, Mitch was an art director and designer creating nationwide campaigns for corporate and non-profit organizations like NBC News, Global Down Syndrome Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, and the Alzheimer’s Association. He worked for 10 years with hundreds of clients as a graphic and web designer, illustrator, and motion graphics artist. Mitch earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree at Ball State University, where he studied art and design, the humanities, and computer animation.
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