MOBILE, Alabama – At Baker High School in west Mobile, one theater teacher has built a reputation for helping teenagers find themselves in some of literature’s oldest and most dramatic characters, from Shakespearean kings to star-crossed lovers.
Now in his fourth year teaching theater at Baker, the instructor previously spent five years running the drama program at Alma Bryant High School after graduating from the University of Montevallo with a degree in acting and directing. He later earned a master’s degree in liberal arts from Spring Hill College. Beyond the classroom, he stays active in the region’s community theater scene, directing an average of two productions a year at venues including the Mobile Theatre Guild, Theatre USA and the Joe Jefferson Playhouse, where he most recently directed a fall production of “Into the Woods.”
He also helps organize the regional rounds of a statewide theater competition for young thespians, giving Mobile County students a chance to compete alongside peers from across Alabama.
In the classroom, the teacher relies heavily on a technique rooted in the Stanislavski method, encouraging student actors to draw on their own emotional memories rather than simply reciting Shakespearean verse as poetry. He described coaching a football player playing King Henry to think about the character’s questions of authority and leadership in terms of his own experience leading teammates, drawing a direct line between a 400-year-old soliloquy and a modern teenager’s everyday life.
“Human emotions haven’t changed through all this time,” he explained, describing his approach to helping students relate to Shakespearean characters despite the unfamiliar language. His favorite plays to teach include “Much Ado About Nothing” for its humor and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” though he noted growing student interest in less commonly performed history plays like “Henry IV” and “Richard III.”
Beyond performance skills, the teacher said his broader goal is equipping students with tools useful well beyond the stage, including public speaking, confidence in front of groups and comfort navigating high-pressure social situations, skills he said translate directly into job interviews and future careers regardless of whether students pursue theater professionally.
When preparing students for competitions, he emphasizes authenticity over trying to guess what judges want to see, arguing that genuine emotional connection to a role resonates far more than a performance calculated to please a panel.
The program reflects a broader emphasis on arts education within Mobile County’s public schools, where theater and performing arts offerings give students creative outlets alongside traditional academics, and where dedicated instructors continue building on a decades-long regional tradition of competitive high school theater.