It’s no secret that the talent at Rolla High School is limitless, as the school has a broad spectrum of creative and practical skills that are showcased each year. However, most people don’t think of the talent that teachers bring to the table. Psychology teacher Amanda Engelke has a long history of theater performance with the school and community.
“It’s a creative outlet. It’s a chance to collaborate and create something with other people because you’re sort of in the moment, you’re live-reacting to things as they happen,” Engelke said.
Engelke got her start with theater in high school, working her way from small ensemble roles to a monumental role her freshman year of college.
“I was cast as Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun, and up until that point, I had never done a musical. I had only done one semester of choir, and I didn’t have any vocal training beyond that. I did some specific vocal lessons during that production and found out that, ‘Hey, I actually love musical theater,’” Engelke said.
Throughout her years doing theater, Engelke has created her own way of getting into a role, using techniques that make her performance much more impactful and personal.
“For me, being a character is just an opportunity to sort of play pretend and to let your imagination work—to be creative. The process of creating a character starts with early rehearsals: you’re blocking, you’re learning your lines, learning your character, and trying to figure out what makes your character tick. I really start feeling like my character when we start putting the costume pieces together. It’s that last piece of pretend where I really feel like I’m coming to life as that person,” Engelke said.
Light, having known Engelke as both a teacher and a fellow cast member, speaks greatly to her character and work ethic.
“She’s always so friendly with everybody and she enjoys goofing around with everyone backstage. It’s incredible that she’s able to do all of her theater things along with her full-time job of being a teacher and having a family too. WIth anything she does she always gives one hundred percent,” Light said.
Going through production after production, there are aspects of theater that Engelke has come to really enjoy and truly value.
“My favorite part of the whole thing is the performance itself. The audience is the last piece of the collaborative puzzle. Without the audience, we’re all just being silly for ourselves. But when you share that story with the audience, their energy becomes part of how you’re playing the character. Live theater is beautiful because it’s never exactly the same,” Engelke said.
For those who want to become as theatrically involved, Engelke gives some advice based on her most recent production experience.
“No role is too small. I mean, think about the Annie production. Every girl walks in and they want to be Annie, right? But there’s only one person that’s going to get cast as Annie. But remember that every other orphan on that stage has a huge impact on telling that story, and if they don’t take their role seriously, we wouldn’t have the story. Annie’s not Annie without the people around her to make her character,” Engelke said.
