Latest / The Recess-An Inside Look at the Auburn School District / Episode #41-Carol Smetheram, Theater Managing Director

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Episode #41-Carol Smetheram, Theater Managing Director · The Recess-An Inside Look at the Auburn School District

• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: Hello, and welcome to the Recess Podcast.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_01: I'm your host, Dr.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: Alan Spacotti, the proud superintendent of the Auburn School District.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_01: The Recess gives me a chance to introduce stories to you, uh, like people or programs, uh, students, staff, just the amazing things we have going on in the Auburn School District.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_01: There are so many stories to tell.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_01: I have the honor of being out in schools.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: I block my calendar every Monday morning uh to be out there, and it's so great to see so many people just stepping up and doing things that you really wouldn't know if you didn't have that privilege.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_01: So I try to uh bring them to the light, or at least the uh podcast, if you will.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_01: Today we have another really exciting uh episode and a great guest.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_01: You're gonna learn about our theaters in Auburn, and we have, I think, really a great community asset and school district asset uh in our theater programs.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm happy to introduce to you the managing director of our Auburn School District Theaters, Carol Smetherim.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome, Carol.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for having me.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: Uh well, I'm glad you're with us, and uh, this is gonna be a fun one uh because Carol has, I think, probably one of the best jobs in the district getting to be around our performing arts center and our other theaters.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: You're gonna learn about the the three theaters we have every single day.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_01: Uh probably nights and weekends too.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um but we do some amazing productions and have really professional theaters.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: So uh I think you're gonna be impressed with what you hear.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: Uh hopefully you've been a had a chance to be uh in our theaters, see a show or concert or for some kind of event.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: We do all kinds of things.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um if not, you'll hear about it from Carol and uh hopefully join us soon.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: So, Carol, before we start talking about the theaters, I'm gonna ask my favorite question, which is who was your favorite teacher and why?
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: So I would say my favorite teacher was Mr.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: Amsbury.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: He was my ninth grade Spanish teacher, and he also happened to be the drama teacher.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um this was back when ninth grade was junior high.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but he was just a dynamic teacher, and we had class held in the drama classroom, and he definitely brought his theater background into the way he taught Spanish.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: It was just much more um conversational, and we were always up and moving, and I remember doing skits in Spanish.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: So he also was brave enough to uh take a group of us to Mexico, and he organized all of the um fundraising for it, and those of us who were able to go went to Mexico City and Mazatlan.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: He was a great all-around teacher.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: It's fascinating to me to hear people's stories about their favorite teacher, and so many times.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: Uh last episode was a counselor, and surprise, her favorite teacher was her counselor.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, so that your theater teacher and Spanish teacher uh who uh brought those passions together made such an impression on you.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: And look, here you are.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, he was he was great.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_01: So, how did you get here?
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_01: How does one become a school district theater director?
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I'll start with my experience in Auburn.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um, in 2005, actually, I started at Auburn Mountain View.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: My husband was a um teacher and still is a teacher at Auburn High School, and I was looking to get into the district.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: And um, I was lucky enough to end up at Auburn Mountain View when it opened.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: I was the counseling administrative assistant.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: And then about a year later, I moved into the registrar position, and I was also the dance team coach there for 10 years.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then in 2015, I moved over to AJ Elementary and worked with um Eric Daniel as the office manager, and then in 2022, I am now the managing director for the theaters, but I have a performing arts background.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: I like to say that I grew up in a dance studio, and you know, from the time I was three years old, I was wearing a leotardin tights, and I did ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, and even baton.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: And um my older sisters were dancers as well, and yeah, we were at Gloria Hudson Dance Studio on Rose Hill in Kirkland, and Gloria definitely had connections because we were able to do our June recital every year at the Seattle Opera House.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: So that was really fun.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, I've always I've always danced.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: I went to the University of Washington.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: I wasn't a dance major, but I definitely took a lot of classes every quarter and dance.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then even after college, I moved to New York to study TAP.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: So I've definitely had a lot of different jobs when I moved back from New York.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: I had a lot of different jobs, but when I ended up in the school district, I just really realized my passion for working with kids and working in the school district.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, I've always had dance also as my passion.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: So I think just working in the Performing Arts Center, the two have just kind of melded together.
• 5:42
  unknown: Yeah.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you mention your your husband, Phil, who uh teaches at Auburn High School and coaches baseball and tennis.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_01: Correct.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you're uh now an AST family through and through.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: You have two sons who graduated.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: You want to mention them?
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: So um Ethan actually graduated from Auburn High School in 2022, and he's now at um Wazoo at Washington State University, and of course, going into the education program there.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: And um, and then our youngest son, Alec, um, graduated from Auburn High School uh last year, 2025, and he is currently playing baseball um down at Lassen Community College in California.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: Great.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: Well, uh I love Auburn families and educator families.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so thanks for sharing that.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: Carol, let's switch gears and we're really going to talk about the theaters now.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: And we'll just start out by setting the stage.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_01: See what I did there?
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: Uh what kind of productions do our school theaters work on and what other roles support our theaters?
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: First, I'd really like to say and start with the fact that we do have, and a lot of people don't know this, we do have three theaters in the Auburn School District, and they are located at each high school.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: And even though they are at the high school, they're not managed by the school building, they're managed by our office.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: And so we have the theater at Auburn Mountain View built in 2005, and that seats uh and we refer to it as the TAM, and the TAM seats 400.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: We have the Auburn Riverside Theater, we refer to that as the Art, and that also seats uh 400.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: And then we have our largest theater, our largest performing arts center, um, and that's located located at Auburn High School.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: It was built in 1981 and remodeled in 2014-15.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: And um, fun fact, the the PAC is the second largest high school performing arts center in the state.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: And we see 937.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly 937.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly, 937.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: So um, yeah, we do have three theaters that are all managed by our office.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_01: And it these are prof I use the word professional theaters in terms of the staffing and but in terms of the equipment technology.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_01: Uh they're they're really high caliber.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: So talk about folks who work behind the scenes and just a little bit about without getting too technical, uh, what makes this different than like a school auditorium?
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: So at each theater, we have a technical director.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: And up at the TAM, we have Mark Peterson.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um at The Art, we have Nico Roycroft, and at the at the PAC we have Alex Strubel.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: We also have an assistant technical director, uh Jenniba.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: And Jennifer actually started out as a student tech, and she is at Auburn High School, worked her way up.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: But our technical directors are in charge of knowing all of our equipment, everything in the theater, maintaining the equipment.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, safety is our number one priority, so just making sure everything is safe and ready to go for any program that we bring in.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: They also are in charge of scheduling and training all of our technicians as well as teaching and um training our student technicians.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: All of our high schools have a great um student tech program.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: And so, yeah, we are definitely there to build that up.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_01: And then you have other staff.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: I know you have a partner in crime in the front office, uh, and you have some other kind of like our early temp staff.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_01: Why don't you round that out?
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, we do.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: We have Carrie Dalton, she's our office manager, and oh gosh, it's kind of hard to summarize exactly everything she does, but um, she definitely supports me.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: She supports all of our technicians and even the performing arts teachers in every school.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: She's in charge of all of our calendaring and scheduling and definitely looks after all of us.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: We have also a pool of stage technicians that we pull from to run our shows.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: We wouldn't be able to have all of the shows that we do uh without that extra help.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: And those technicians are hourly, they they work various jobs throughout the Pacific Northwest.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: Um they work at various theaters, they could be working the Beyoncé concert one night and be working the you know the theater production um the next.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: So they definitely are skilled and knowledgeable.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_01: Can we get Beyonce to the pack?
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, maybe.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: We'll work on that.
• 10:40
  unknown: Okay.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_01: And again, without getting too technical, just explain a little bit of the audio and lighting and what do what do our theaters have that you know a normal high school wouldn't necessarily have?
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: Aaron Powell Our goal is to have the same equipment in every theater so that any technician could walk into any sound and light booth and be able to run it immediately.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: So we actually just bought two new light boards for the the art and the pack.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's been very exciting.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: Part of what I think of with you know that just the technical prowess of the theaters, uh, I'm a member of the Auburn Rotary, and for like three or four decades they partnered with one of the professional country music radio stations in town and brought in high caliber, like real professional musicians who play in arenas and all around the country.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_01: And they were consistently impressed with the operation that we had at the pack.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: Uh and just the capability and you know, when they were throwing things around, your texts were like right there with them, met every need, and uh just I think the sound was terrific, uh, and all the lighting cues and all the stuff that probably the general public and and myself included don't really understand uh was just on point.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_01: So kudos to your staff.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_01: All right, we got we got through the the technical part, Carol.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna move on to what does a typical day look like for Carol Smetheram, managing director of the theater?
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it kind of depends on what shows are happening in the theaters.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so I will just tell you what I did yesterday.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: We had um I started my day at the PAC, and you know, we're always working three months out.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: So I was actually working on contracts for our clients that are coming in February.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: So sometimes I I forget what I'm doing today because my mind is always three months ahead.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: But I worked, we worked on that, and then we had a pre-production meeting with a client who is coming in January.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: And a pre-production meeting is a meeting where the client comes in and they meet with me, our technical director, and the lead of for that show, and we go over everything from load-in to strike for their show, and we talk over everything.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: So by the time that their show happens, there are no surprises, and we are very rehearsed.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: So we had that um meeting, and then I met with another client who's coming in January to sign contracts, and then let's see, the afternoon um was spent in the theater.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: I got to observe and help a little bit with the set uh build for um Antigone, which is the play opening at Auburn High School, and that's really fun.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um that's another thing that our technicians do.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: They build, they build sets for and they assist with the drama teachers in that.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: And then yeah, I ended my day at Auburn Riverside, meeting with the technical director there and going over his set build for the music man.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_01: That's a really exciting uh schedule.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sure it's a little bit different every day, uh, but it paints a picture of everything that happens leading up to the show that that we don't always see, but it it's necessary to have a great production.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: Uh okay, so we know that we have school groups, and maybe maybe we could start by talking uh just a little bit about what school groups use our theaters, and then I'd like to you to share with the public we have rentals, so we have community groups, professional groups that also use our theaters.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so share share the use, school and rental.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: And actually, November is you know theater production month, so it's a great time for this question at the TAM.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: The um Auburn Mountain View Theater Group is opening this year with a play, and it is the Laramie project, and our technicians are helping there with you know teaching the students the soundboard and the lightboard.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: We have a new lightboard there, so they are going over all the details with that so that by the time the show opens, it is all student run.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: And then we have at Auburn High School, we are opening with the Greek Athenian Antigone play.
• 15:14
  SPEAKER_00: And our technicians are very involved with the set design and again instructing and helping the student technicians learn the lightboard and soundboard.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: And one new thing that's happening with this play, uh, Dave Cox, who's the drama teacher there, to kind of emulate the Greek amphitheater experience, he's only seating in the balcony.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: Really?
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: So it's kind of a new experience, and we've definitely been navigating the sound and how that will, you know, working with the students to project up to the balcony.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: But um, but yeah, so it should be kind of fun.
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_01: That's kind of a new I've never heard of anything like that.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_01: That's cool.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: And then over at the art, they are opening this year with a classic musical, The Music Man.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: And um Auburn Riverside, they do their musical in the fall, where Auburn and Mountain View do their musical in March, in the spring.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: So they're opening with the music man, and our technicians are in charge.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, they built the whole set on stage.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: So from start to finish.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's gonna be a great musical.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_01: So there's obviously uh drama theater programs.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_01: What other student groups use the the theaters?
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, we have oh gosh, our music programs are thriving in all of our schools.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: And we have choir concerts, we have band concerts, we have orchestra concerts, even middle school.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: They bring their orchestra and band concerts to our theaters as well.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_00: So we definitely support all of the performing arts in all of the high schools and middle schools.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_01: That's great.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_01: And then uh let's let's switch to the rental side.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: So we have community groups, professional groups.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, give us maybe just like what does that look like?
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_01: What's the process for them to book it?
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_01: What kind of groups do we see?
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we have a wide variety of community clients, and we definitely have some returners.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_00: We have community clients that have been renting um and booking through our theaters for 20 years, and um, we work with a lot of dance studios, and we work with the city of Auburn as well, and we've also hosted the Miss Auburn competition for about 20 years now, too.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um, some other examples are youth.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_00: We work with youth theater groups in the area.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: We've um hosted a bodybuilding competition, and actually we do that every year.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, we put a lot of uh tarps up in our green room to avoid the tanning and the lotions on our furniture, but yeah, so we've that, and we also have, and I'm not going to forget this, but the Auburn Symphony.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh, the Auburn Symphony, it is amazing.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_00: And they book about three shows with us per year.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_01: Uh my wife plays in the Auburn Symphony, and uh she did before I got this job and we moved to Auburn, and it's it's a high-caliber group.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, most of the musicians play in the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra, but they want to play orchestral music and they come down and do that as the Auburn Symphony.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but Shannon was really blown away when she came to the community getting to know some of the community members who come that they can go to a professional classical music experience close to home with free parking, uh in a safe place.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_01: It means so much.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: So uh I th I see our schools as the center of the community.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_01: We just held one of the mayor's town hall forums at the uh Auburn Riverside Theater recently.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and we love having all kind of walks of our community come through for either a school performance or some other engagement, and thank you for supporting that.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I'm putting you on the spot here, but how many weeks a year do you think our performing arts center is used?
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_00: Probably about 40.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we have a brief time in the summer, and we we really use that time for maintenance.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: So at the Performing Arts Center, I mean at all three of our theaters, it's a time for our technicians to take down every single light source, open it up, clean it.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's a huge maintenance project.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: But other than that, we're busy.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: And then you mentioned things like the bodybuilding.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um probably the most unique event I've seen in there is Auburn High School Wrestling.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, pack the pack.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: And actually that's coming up in January, January 14th.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_00: And it is, it's very exciting.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's such a cool experience, especially for the for the athletes that are not from Auburn, you know, the the athletes from maybe Tahoma High School.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know that any other high school has this type of event on the stage.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: And it just makes for a great, great way to watch wrestling for the parents, for all, for everyone who's watching.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: And um, it's just very exciting.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's a great has that special event.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's very special.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_01: There's an intensity that uh it's you're you're a little bit more removed in a gymnasium and it's just so focused.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I love it.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_01: And um anyway, thanks for taking some risks and doing some things that are a little bit outside the box and bringing different folks through our theaters because once they get in there, they'll they'll notice, you know, there's some different different things and uh great assets in Auburn.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I also wanted to add that you know, we have um a really diverse community and with lots of culture, and we have a lot of cultural clients that come through.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: We do at least two Punjabi groups per year, dance and music.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and we do just for an example, this past year we had an event to benefit Myanmar and the people of Myanmar, and that was a music concert event.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: We had a group from Fiji, and they had a music concert, and that was to benefit um a hospital in Fiji.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_00: And then also this year, we have a women's trio group from Ireland, and they are coming to perform a Celtic Christmas, and that will be at the TAM this this holiday season in December.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_01: That's exciting.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, we just threw a lot at the audience, so um we went pretty deep.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna keep this the rest of this light and fun.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so I'm gonna start with this question, Carol.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_01: What do you love most about working in the district theaters?
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_00: What I love most is that look, that emotion, that face of a child when they first see a performance.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: So, example of this is Evergreen City Ballet.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: They come and perform the Nutcracker every year.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: And they are gracious enough to offer a free performance to all of our third graders in the district.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of our third graders have not seen a show.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_00: They've not been they haven't been to a play.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: And this is their first experience coming to a theater.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: And just watching them walk into the lobby doors and their face just lights up and they're just like, wow, you know, and and then they're just basically speechless once they get into the theater.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: But then when the lights go down, the curtain comes up and the stage comes to life with the nutcracker.
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_00: It is the coolest thing to watch their expression.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: And it's it just reminds you, okay, this is what why we do what we do, you know.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_00: And um it just it's so great, you know.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: Theater's magical.
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_01: Do you ever pinch yourself and say I get paid to do this?
• 22:56
  SPEAKER_00: That's right, all the time.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_01: And I love that enthusiasm you have for the job.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um what is one of your best success stories?
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_00: I don't work as me, I work as a we.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_00: I'm always in a team um mindset.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_00: So I think success is also can be measured with collaboration and working in a school district, we have that benefit of collaborating with the other teachers in the building to make events happen.
• 23:25
  SPEAKER_00: And um I would like to speak to the merge art show, and uh we're going on year four now, and that was something we started the year that I started.
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_00: And when I first started at the PAC, I walked into that lobby and I'm just like, oh my gosh, there's so much potential here, just in the lobby, to have visual arts, to have an art show here.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I was talking to Carrie about that, and she's like, Oh my gosh, I've been thinking the same thing.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: We need to have an art show or something.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: And then about a month later, we got an email from Tim Karstens, who was an assistant principal there, and said, Hey, can we set up a meeting with the art teacher?
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, they really want to start an art show.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like we were all thinking this idea, and we all came together and we met with the band teacher and the other art teachers, and we created an art show called Merge, and we also collaborated with the metal welding teacher, and he worked with his students to make bars and install them on our walls so that the art can hang on our walls.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: But the merge art show happens every year in May, and um it's not just painting, but it's drawing and um graphic design and ceramics and jewelry, and then we've combined it with the all district jazz festival.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: So not only can people attend the art show, but then they can go listen to some jazz music right after.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_00: So it's just great, it's a great show.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_01: It's a total winner.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_01: I'm glad you thought of that uh as an example of a success story because it it truly is.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_01: Carol, you've shared a lot about our theaters.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um but I know that there's more to know and there's more to know about the upcoming production.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_01: So, how can people find out about what's happening in our theaters?
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, so actually Carrie creates a beautiful newsletter every month, and we have an email distribution list that we um email our newsletter out just so you know what's happening at each theater.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: And it gives everything from the show times to dates, it's all you need to know.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_00: And if you can find that on our website, it's on our website, on the district website.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_00: But you can also call or email me or Carrie and uh request to be added to our email distribution list.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_01: It's a great uh heads up for what's happening in the theaters, and I know you can check the website, but just to have it show up in your inbox is a great reminder.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_01: I read it every month and I uh really enjoyed them.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: I'm also uh a subscriber to I think it's ASD Theaters on Facebook, and so that also just shows a lot of things that are happening, even if you can't make it down, it's just great to to see some of the the really uh great photos and and stories and also learn about upcoming events.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's actually the Auburn Performing Arts Center on Facebook.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: The Auburn Performing Arts Center on Facebook.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna finish up with the question I end with on all the recess podcast episodes.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_01: Carol Smetherum, what was your favorite thing to do at recess?
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_00: My favorite thing to do at recess was double dutch jump roping.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: I remember going and asking our PE teacher for the long jump ropes.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, as a dancer, it's timing, it's rhythm, it's movement.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, it was fun.
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_00: Me and my friend Patty, double dutch.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_01: Double Dutch.
• 26:48
  SPEAKER_01: Do you ever do it anymore?
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: No, no, I should.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: It's great exercise.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_00: It is, it is.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_01: That's that's part of our mission at the Recess Podcast to get adults playing again.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and and that is not only safe, it's healthy.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Carol, you've been a great guest, and you do great work in the theaters, and uh, as you mentioned a moment ago, it's not just you, it's the team, and we're really proud of everybody and uh glad to have this asset for our kids to experience the wonder of walking into the theater the first time, or just the immense joy of being on stage and performing, and uh people like you make that happen and support our great teachers.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, we have so many great performing arts teachers.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, we're really fortunate in Auburn to have such strong programs.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so thank you for being behind the scenes and your team uh so that they can deliver the experiences that really help our kids to thrive.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Carol.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_00: You're welcome.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for having me.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_01: All right, please share this podcast, it's a good one.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, I know there's a lot of people out there who love our theaters and love the arts.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_01: This has been the Recess Podcast.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, we're produced by Auburn School District and Vicki Alonzo.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_01: And I can't wait to tell more stories about Auburn on the Recess Podcast.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_01: I will see you next time.