English teacher takes over OAP
English teacher Jenny Walker speaks to one of her classes. Walker will take over as director of One Act Play following the Thanksgiving break.
November 21, 2013
English teacher Jenny Walker will be taking on the role as director of One Act Play, principal Brad Bailey announced Tuesday at the Tiger Theatre Company’s booster club meeting.
“I am really excited to take on One Act Play,” Walker said. “I love UIL and theater, and to be able to take the stage and compete with other schools is really exciting and a motivator.”
Walker is taking over after the resignation of theater teacher Micah McBay, and she understands that coming into an existing program can be both nerve-wracking and a new experience.
“It takes a little bit of adjusting,” Walker said. “[The students] are going to have to get to know me, and I am going to have to get to know them and build our relationship.”
Success in the One Act Play competition is what Walker plans to do, drawing on her years of experiences.
“I taught theater for five years at Redwater, so I have a lot of experience with directing,” Walker said. “We advanced in One Act Play and had awards like best actor and all-star cast.”
With the awards at Redwater, students are also looking forward to Walker’s involvement in the program.
“I feel that she is going to do really well because she has advanced before with her other schools,” junior Cara Fowler said. “I think we will be able to pool together and that we will do really well.”
Working with a larger and more diverse group will be the new director’s challenge.
“Coming from Redwater, I was the only theatre teacher, so I did all of the planning and tech stuff,” Walker said. “Coming to work with Mr. [Trent] Hanna is just a dream, and there is a great group of parents with the booster club, so we have a really great program.”
Walker hopes to bring a new approach to the play.
“I bring a fresh outlook on everything especially after they have had a director for many years,” Walker said. “This will pull [the students] out of their comfort zones, and I think when you do that, it stretches and challenges them to pull out the best.”
Through this, she hopes the program will continue to strengthen.
“I’m very much a team builder, and we become a family,” Walker said. “They already are a family, and I think there will be a mutual respect for what I will be trying to do with the program and becoming a team.”
Working together to overcome challenges will take the leadership of everyone in the department.
“My leadership follows in the team building where we work with our strengths and capitalize on those and take our weaknesses and find ways to bring us up,” Walker said. “I really want to bring out the best that we have.”
Using the best from everyone and watching for what to improve on will help Walker with advancing the production.
“I’ve seen these students in action, so I know that they are talented,” Walker said. “I really feel that we are going to do well this year and have a good chance to advance past district, and I want to make it a really good year for the kids.”
