If you pass Jay Sierszyn in the hallway and ask him how he's doing, 他会第一个警告你, “我要用一个故事来回答." The WLC theatre professor of 21 years is set retire at the end of the semester. Being a storyteller seems to be at the heart of Sierszyn's winding path into the theatre vocation: "When I'm asked what I do, 我说我讲故事.“从很多方面来说，这也包括了我在剧院的工作."
这需要一系列的教育, 职业生涯, and life experiences for Sierszyn to eventually realize his calling to theatre education. Perhaps the earliest nudge came from a most unlikely place - a funeral home. “我的姑姑和叔叔开了一家殡仪馆, 我们会在接待大厅举行大家庭圣诞节. 对孩子来说，这是一个完美的玩耍场所! My cousins and I would do 'shows' up front where the casket would normally be on display."
从高中一直到大学, 西尔斯曾以为他最终会成为一名乐队指挥. 他对器乐有着浓厚的兴趣, 还会打击乐, 男中音萨克斯, 除了他的主要乐器之外还有单簧管, 中音萨克斯风. 他把这归功于他的高中音乐老师, 戴夫Krubsack, with being the one who opened his eyes to becoming an educator: "Still to this day, I think he had the most influence on my going into the vocation of teaching. 这就是他的为人和所作所为."
在西尔斯琴大一和大二之间, he joined a traveling Christian pop music-theatre group called Joy Incorporated. 剧团乘坐一辆改装的校车在全国巡回演出, performing concerts and children's shows at churches and schools along the way. "That was a time of really solidifying my faith - we would do a daily Bible study together and it was, 在某种意义上, 一个非常公开的事工." The experience also guided him further along his teaching journey: "It made much more clear the vocational callings I felt in both music and theatre, 也是为了教书."
戏剧教育事业的戏剧性转变, 然而, 会很快成为一种“啊哈”时刻吗. In the midst of pursuing a music education degree at Concordia Teachers College (now Concordia University Chicago), 他遇到了巨大的障碍, 也被西琴称为音乐理论II. "The Lord made me realize how music should maybe just be a minor. 他让我明白，我并没有那种天赋."
大学毕业后, Sierszyn began teaching English at an all-boys Catholic high school in Chicago. 除了他的教学职责, 他是摔跤教练, 开始了一个演讲项目, 还经营着课后戏剧社. “我在那里教了四年书, 然后我就想, 'Sure I developed their speech program (which they didn't previously have), but what I really wanted to do happened at 2:30 in the afternoon.' "
Realizing that he was most "in his element" while leading the drama club, Sierszyn took the next step in cultivating his passion by enrolling in graduate school at Northern Illinois University. 之后，西琴开始申请大学教学职位. "I ended up with 120-some rejection letters or letters that said 'Sorry, we don't have an opening.’”现在他获得了戏剧艺术硕士学位, Sierszyn went back to teaching English and speech at a Lutheran high school while awaiting his golden opportunity at a college.
Persistence finally paid off when Sierszyn received an offer to begin the theatre program at Waldorf College in Forest City, 爱荷华州, 他在那里工作了13年. He continued to nurture his gifts in theatre 和教学 by completing Ph.D. 在密苏里大学的课程, and by getting involved in professional groups such as the Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE). In time, Sierszyn became ready to author the next "act" of his 职业生涯.
He recalled meeting a certain theatre professor from 威斯康辛州路德 College at an ATHE convention in New York City a few years earlier. "I was in a liberal arts focus group [at the convention] and this person comes up to me and her name is Jan Nelson and she's from 威斯康辛州路德 College. She asked if I would be interested in coming back to Milwaukee because she just had started the program at WLC, 我们正在考虑发展和扩大师资队伍."
几年后, 在职业生涯的十字路口, 西尔申还记得那次偶然的相遇, 然后又向尼尔森伸出手:“她说, “你在开玩笑吧, 我们刚刚给了一个拒绝的人一个职位, 我们从秋天开始招聘!' " After a series of subsequent campus visits and meetings with faculty, 学生, 和管理员, 他接受了WLC的召唤. The change did not happen without some anxiety about facing the unknown, but Sierszyn trusted God to light the way: "And so came fall of 2002, and I remember telling myself to 'be where you are - the Lord is going to call you and has a path for you - but you may only see the first couple steps.' "
Sierszyn's first years in the WLC theatre department were dedicated to teaching set design and 照明. 虽然不是他研究生学习的重点, he was nonetheless skilled in these areas from experiences in college and the classroom. "I felt that, unbeknownst to me at those times, the Lord was preparing me for this moment at WLC."
Faculty and program changes through the years gradually led to Sierszyn's role becoming more comprehensive. These expanded opportunities allowed Sierszyn to dive deeper into his vocational calling: "I've never not been a teacher. My mission is the 'teaching aspect' of getting 学生 to see why they do theatre and having them come to an understanding that it's not just about them performing. It's conveying to my 学生 what I have learned and experienced in theatre."
他自称是个讲故事的人, Sierszyn understands theatre to be the art of telling the human story. "You can't have theatre without the subject matter being human life.他帮助学生认识到这一点, 在参与剧本和演出时, 角色将反映真实的人, 毫无保留. "Students freak out when I say, 'There's probably not going to be theatre in heaven.' In plays, we are exploring what it means to be human, and that includes our sinful nature."
Sierszyn works with classes to develop an understanding of what it means to be a Christian theatre student - and audience member: "In some ways, 每个故事都是基督教的故事. If you have a Christian context of what it means to be human - and that's what's going on in a play - we can see the 'why' in characters' actions. 我们可以看到我们有同样的错误或挑战." He encourages 学生 to analyze the lessons learned from shows and apply them in their devotional lives: "Hopefully, 好的戏剧能让他们思考, “我的生活怎么样?? 我是如何反映在这个故事里的? How can that strengthen my faith through a process of prayerful consideration and scripture reading?' "
是否担任董事, 设计师, 或生产商, Sierszyn was intricately involved in almost every Raabe Theatre production throughout his 21-year WLC 职业生涯. 对他, a good show is one that connects 学生 and audiences to something known, while at the same time exposing them to the unknown: "If it's too cliche, 没有什么新鲜的，也没有什么不同, 然后是小睡. 另一方面, a story shouldn't be so imbued in a different culture or be told in such a way that people have no idea what's going on. No, we need enough of what we recognize, and yet be told something new."
当被问及他信誉最好的网投平台排名任期内最喜欢的戏剧时, Sierszyn回答, 我最喜欢的节目是下一部. I know that's pretty cliche, but I feel I am called to be in the moment." His sentiment is more than just a passing platitude to evade a ponderous question. 而, Sierszyn's attitude goes back to the understanding of his vocation: "I think that's a very much a theatre thing - to be engaged in the here and now, 并且出现在舞台上和排练中."
Of course, Sierszyn wasn't without a handful of highlights as seen from the director's chair. 这位经验丰富的戏剧教授深情地回忆着 行尸走肉, which he produced with an "ensemble" - or group-centered - approach. “这是一种非常松散的东西. Most of the characters weren't cast until about eight to ten days before we opened, 这让学生们抓狂. I had them bring much of their own "self" to the characters and do reSearch on the subject matter. There were times for sharing thoughts and perspectives - it was a very artsy-fartsy, 混合的方法.“节目中最令人心酸的时刻, 然而, came at the end with an unscripted addition: "We curtained off the Raabe Theatre and had the audience sit close together in the middle section. 当这个死刑犯要去执行死刑的时候, 其余的演员唱了这首赞美诗 多么奇妙的爱 从窗帘后面. Now, whenever I hear that hymn, I think about how effective that was in the show."
《信誉最好的网投平台排名》 was another favorite: "The cast was wonderful and so willing to explore things. We brought back alumni to be in the show and to compose the music.“西尔森的记忆不断涌现。”如何在商业上取得成功 我信誉最好的网投平台排名的第一场大秀是什么. One of the cool things with that was that we had a working elevator door on the set. 未排练的莎士比亚作品， 弓的弯曲 - the ones I'm thinking of all came out of the "ensemble" experience and were not as scripted. These shows had creativity that came out of being in the moment, which made them totally unique."
Not all of the memorable moments happened at show time, 然而. In fact, many of the most meaningful experiences occurred behind the curtain. “其他人看不到其他记忆. 所有后台和商店的工作, the laughter from 学生 coming out of rehearsal - I say to myself, “这就是我喜欢做这个的原因.' "
Sierszyn considers his circuitous 职业生涯 path to be a tremendous blessing. Though a more straightforward trajectory may have been easier at times, the twists and turns have given him untold opportunities to grow and serve. Only now in hindsight can he see how God was using those situations and experiences to equip him to serve others. "We don't always know why the Lord leads us on paths that are disconnected, 但后来我们回过头来，发现‘哦, 这就是为什么会这样!' "
Sierszyn has endeavored to create an environment in which 学生 will relish these types of vocational 建筑 blocks. 他意识到了, 就像他自己的经历一样, 许多人将被召唤以他们还不知道的方式服务. 许多WLC戏剧专业的学生都有, 当然, 后来在专业剧院当演员, 作家, 技术人员, 和经理. Many more, 然而, have found themselves serving their neighbor off the stage. “我们做戏剧的方式非常符合WLC的使命. We want to just as much celebrate someone whose vocational calling doesn't end up being in theatre as we do our alumni in the field. 除了你的专业，还有很多其他的东西. 这和我有联系吗? 是的! 我从来不是只看戏的人."
西尔斯琴的WLC绝唱， 拼布英国将于2023年4月首演. 以美国拓荒者为背景, the musical uses quilt patterns and patches to serve as a representation for a network of intricate stories: "In 拼布, 我们听过很多这样的小故事, 或“补丁,就像被子一样, they become part of a larger thing that is passed on from generation to generation." The great storyteller could not have picked a more perfect or poignant show at which to take his final bow.
