By Mubarrat Choudhury
Creating the set for “Fiddler on the Roof,” sophomore Chasyn Andrews-Philbin was stuck on the design for the exterior of the barn and the ceilings for the buildings. Tech Theatre teacher William Covington tweaked the original design for the barn to make it large and abstract, preparing for the musical and helping Andrews-Philbin qualify the International Thespian Society national compeition.
This year, Richardson hired two new Tech Theatre teachers – Covington and Jeff Winkler. While Winkler taught Tech Theatre for nine years in Denton ISD, this is Covington’s second year teaching after working in Dallas ISD.
“Richardson is great,”Covington said. “It’s fantastic, and I love the community. I love the attitude of the students. They are all dedicated. And the theater space is amazing. It is bigger and better than most theater spaces in Dallas, which is especially good for students to have this setting, since they get to work with the highest level of technology.”
Both teachers have led students in several projects and competitions, teaching them how to use and maintain the theater’s equipment.
“One of the projects we’ve been doing so far has been building the whole set for “Fiddler on the Roof,” Winkler said. “Getting the lights to fully work, especially with “Wunderland” – that’s really been one of our biggest accomplishments, because when I got here, only two lights were working, and now we got them all to work. But the majority of our work has been getting the shop in better shape.”
While Andrews-Philbin said Cubist painter Marc Chagall influenced her use of symbolism with the Star of David, menorahs, Torah and prayer shawl set pieces, she said that both tech teachers also influenced her success.
“Winkler is the person to convince me to go the competition, and Covington is the person that helped me with the set design,” Andrews-Philbin said. “They are both creative teachers. Winkler is really good at pushing me to the best of my abilities. I’m a huge procrastinator, and Winkler was on me all the time, so I can get my sets done.”
Theatre seniors said they are learning more from their new teachers because of their real-world experience.
“They are both pretty cool, and they both have a lot of experience in the industry,” senior Mukund Gajera said. “The previous Tech Techers were good teachers as well, but Winkler and Covington are better teachers to me because they have more experience.”
Both teachers have plans to improve and expand the magnet, and ultimately prepare them for a career in the industry.
“Our big focus is growing the magnet,” Covington said. “The Tech Theatre Magnet is only a few years old, and I want to see the magnet grow double or triple in the next few years. In the future, I want magnet students to go straight into the professional world, as well as building internship relationship with the local theater companies.”