Day 318: Debbi Silas
“I truly think that being in involved in the theater, whether it’s on stage or behind the scenes, there is a commitment there that if you are driven to fully give yourself to this art, it allows you not only to show that creative side of yourself, but it empowers you. It builds your self-esteem. It gives you the opportunity to say ‘Hey, I can do this and I can learn this.’”
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Toni Reece: Thank you so much, Debbi, for agreeing to be part of the Project today, and before we begin, can you please introduce yourself?
Debbi Silas: Hello, my name is Debbi Silas.
Toni: And Debbi, what do you do?
Debbi: I am presently … I’m retired, just retired from teaching for 35 years, and I am presently just enjoying my retirement and doing theater, which is something I love to do.
Toni: Oh, well good for you! Debbi, when you think of that word inspiration, who do you inspire, and how does that happen?
Debbi: I would say that I feel I inspire young people who are interested in theater, giving them the tools necessary to gain the momentum that they may need to further their interest in the arts. I have worked with children of all ages over the past 25 years in theater, as well as the past 35 years in education, and I think what’s my love, my overabundance of love of the theater, I feel, overflows into their being … to help them pursue those things that they like to do.
Toni: So really, it’s showing them that there is the way to do that. How does that happen? Give me an example of how you might have inspired another young person that’s interested in theater – tell me what happens.
Debbi: Okay. I can think of one in particular young lady who I worked with. She came to me as a fifth grader, never doing theater before, and I was directing a production, and she came and so totally enjoyed what she was doing that she felt like this was something that was her passion. And with the help of her parents and her family, she pursued vocal lessons, acting lessons, dance lessons, and is now a senior in high school and a very prominent, outstanding, what we call a triple threat – a singer, an actress, and a dancer – involved in community theater, involved in local productions outside of the community, and also in her high school productions. And she is pursuing a career of musical theater and is presently looking into several colleges that she would like to attend next year after she graduates.
Toni: So really, you got to see that go all the way.
Debbi: Absolutely. And it is … it takes my breath away to see her on stage now. Her parents have become very good friends of mine, and whenever I meet new people through them, it’s always “This is her first director” and it just kind of gives me that feeling of I really accomplished something without really needing to be there, being that important for that young lady.
Toni: So from a mentoring perspective, how do you think that you might help someone to explore their potential? In the example that you’ve given, it’s very obvious because you were there and you mentored from the beginning and you’ve had a couple of years. What else do you see happening that you can say “You know what? I know that this is what they’re doing, this is how they’re exploring their potential” – what happens?
Debbi: What happens you mean for the children, or like the process of it happening, or …
Toni: No, for … how do you help them to explore their potential?
Debbi: Well, I truly think that being in involved in the theater, whether it’s on stage or behind the scenes, there is a commitment there that if you are driven to fully give yourself to this art, it allows you not only to show that creative side of yourself, but it empowers you. It builds your self-esteem. It gives you the opportunity to say “Hey, I can do this and I can learn this.”
I think it actually makes you a better person when dealing with other people, because it gives you the opportunity to put yourself into their shoes, whether in a situation that’s a difficult one or just getting to know somebody new. The younger children that I have worked with, the self-esteem that has been built that I have seen even over a week’s time or three weeks’ time is amazing. They come in, they’re shy, they’re reserved, and as they leave after we’ve done training together, they’re just so much more outgoing and so sure of themselves.
Toni: So it’s really skills that are transferred from …
Debbi: Yes, absolutely. And I think they’re really strong people skills, things that you need to have to grow and to mature and to develop into the person that you can be.
Toni: So whether they pursue theater or not, it’s really that engagement process that you go through with them that helps them with these skills that are probably lasting them a lifetime.
Debbi: Absolutely. You know, so many times we have children that are extremely creative, but they just don’t know how to channel that creativity in a positive way to develop people skills. A lot of young children don’t necessarily have the people skills that they need to interact with others of their own age or with adults, and this I think helps to encourage that part of them to make them be risk takers and take that opportunity to say “Here I am, this is what I can do, let me show it to you.”
Toni: What inspires you?
Debbi: I think actually as far as the theater and performance, I was inspired by a woman who was actually my church organist when I was a youngster growing up. She was a lovely person, and she gave me the opportunity to do what I do best as far as singing and encouraged me and encouraged my parents to pursue that love of music in that manner.
I also feel that the children that I worked with have inspired me in so many ways in so many levels. I’ve been a life skills teacher working with special needs children for the past 12 years, and just seeing what we can do and having them develop into young adults is such an amazing thing to watch. I truly love working with children, and they teach me something new every day.
Toni: When you find yourself suffering from a day where maybe you need a little inspiration yourself, you know, do you tend to reach for the same type of resources or tools to lift yourself up?
Debbi: No, I don’t really think I do. I think it depends on … I’m not a person that delves into a book, or I’m not a person that always delves into music. I think at times, I … depending on whatever that particular mood is that I’m in that day and whatever has happened causes me then to go to whatever source I have to lift my spirits in whatever … it may be spending time with my younger son, who always makes me happy, or spending time with a friend or just … sometimes it’s just sit down and put on some music and work through some dance numbers and get my mind off of whatever I was worried about before.
Toni: So for you, your inspiration comes from releasing yourself from whatever stress that you’re in so that you can be reinspired.
Debbi: Right, yes.
Toni: Okay. So what are you doing now to explore your own potential so you can continue to enjoy this retirement and still do the work that you do?
Debbi: Well, I think … I really can’t honestly say that I feel like I’m retired yet, because I just retired in June and the new school year hasn’t started yet. I am immersed right now in theater, all kinds of theater. Theater with children. I’ve just … we’re in the process of producing a new musical that I wrote and a friend of mine did the music for, and we’re trying to get that on stage.
I’m involved in a lot of projects right now. Watching other people perform their art in a positive way helps me to grow. It helps me to see “Oh, there’s another way of doing that” or “Why didn’t I think of that?” I just … I enjoy being with professionals and other people who enjoy their art, and that’s what I think is inspiring me to just keep moving in the way I’m moving right now.
Toni: It’s really refreshing to hear you say that no matter how many years that you’ve been doing this, whether it’s in, you know, the education system or it’s in the theater system, that you still at this point in your life need to learn from others to be inspired.
Debbi: Absolutely.
Toni: And there’s so many people that don’t feel that way, because they are the mentor, they are the expert, and they can’t learn from anyone else, so that’s refreshing to hear.
Debbi: I truly believe that people need to be lifetime learners. They need to be constantly growing. They need to be open to change, they need to be open to risks. Things don’t always stay the same, and as teaching in a public school system for 35 years, there were many, many changes, and those people that could not accept those changes had a really difficult time.
So you need to be open and you need to be able to say “Okay, yes, I know how to do this, but you know, that way is kind of interesting too. Let me try that, or teach me how to do that, because I really like the way you do that.” I think that’s what the whole creative piece is as far as working with people and being able to collaborate with people.
Toni: Well, I think you have said it best when I asked you what inspires you or who inspires you, because it’s so interesting how you inspire others is by mentoring, and you gave the example of mentoring this young girl and also became friends with her parents, but helped her parents through the process. And yet that was the first thing you mentioned as far as how you’re inspired, which was by a mentor who mentored you and your parents. So you have absolutely come full circle with that.
Debbi: Yes, I have. Yes, I have. I actually believe that she is the person that started me doing any of this. I mean, it was just amazing. I don’t know if I ever really had the opportunity to tell her that.
Toni: Well, we cannot thank you enough for being part of the Get Inspired! Project, Debbi. Good luck with your play and the musical that you’re trying to get out there, and thank goodness there’s people in the world like you who are mentors for young people who want to get into theater, because you are providing them these lifelong skills. So thank you for being here today.
Debbi: Thank you, Toni, it was great.
Toni: All right. Take care.
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For more information about Debbi Silas: www.readingcommunityplayers.com
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