Michael Bai ‘20

Cristy Chory, Lower School Theater Teacher, participates in community theater productions in addition to her teaching duties. After several performances as an actor in productions such as The Secret Garden, Evita, and Titanic, she has assumed a directing role for The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) (Revised) at the Methacton Community Theater in Collegeville.

Chory began to participate in community theater in order to fulfill her deep passion for acting. She explains,  “When I went to college, I was like, ‘I’m going to sing, I’m going to dance, I’m going to be a professional actor.’ I realized that was a lot of really hard work, that maybe I had other interests that were just as important. But I missed performing a lot.”

Her experiences in community theater translate well to her work as a teacher at EA because they help students as well as herself understand the nuances and skills of theater. Chory says, “It’s a really good outlet for all of my creative interests that I don’t necessarily get to use while I’m here. Also, at the same time, when I’m teaching very young children stage skills, it actually has informed my own performances,” thinking of theatrical skills in a most basic and fundamental way.

Chory also reveals that her theater productions outside of school allow her to teach students about sportsmanship and community. She explains, “A lot of what we focus on in the [lower school] plays is not just the performance aspect of it but also the community aspect, the ensemble aspect, about working together and celebrating each other’s strengths, being happy for each other [and] for others’ successes, and understanding what it means to have sportsmanship.” Chory continues, “We have to be gracious and supportive of each other and manage both our excitement and celebrate our wins but also understand that it’s okay to feel disappointed.”

She decided to pursue a directing role for The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) (Revised) because she was inspired by EA’s production a few years ago, when theater department chair Daniel Clay did it with a large cast–when it is actually meant to be played by three people. Chory speaks of the play itself: “We have nine people in our cast. The concept is that it’s all of Shakespeare’s plays in ninety minutes or less. There’s a lot of slapstick comedy. It’s very improv-based. The playwrights actually encourage the cast to put their own spin on things and change the script and make things up and improvise. I’ve had a lot of fun. It’s a totally different perspective to be on the other side of the table, so to speak.”

In fact, Chory enjoys the change in perspective that comes with being a director because, as she says, “The hardest challenge for me as an actor is not being able to watch myself do the thing. You practice, you build up all your skill, all your technique. The thing I love about being a director is that I get to watch all that stuff. They’re doing the performance, and I get to look at it and help tweak it and direct it and guide it, and work with the actors to tell the story together, to make sure all the details are falling into place.”

Chory explains the challenges of balancing her work as a teacher and her out-of-school productions: “It can be tricky sometimes. When we’re just starting rehearsals, it’s three days a week. We rehearse from 7-10 [p.m.]. You figure out how to make the time for the things that are important to you. “

Despite these challenges, Chory appreciates theater as a core aspect of her life. “I think having that outlet that satisfies my creative goals and interests, it makes me really happy. I come back to work even better prepared in a really positive frame of mind. You find the ways to make it work. During tech week, it’s exhausting, but you get through it because it is always worth it in the end.” The Methacton Community Theater will present The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) (Revised) on May 4, 5, 10, 11, and 12, 2019.