What Theatre Means To Me

A month after The Tonys, where I sat in my family room cheering on everyone involved

in my favorite new musical, Suffs, as it won two well deserved awards, I find myself in

the middle of another great summer spent in regional theatre. As I reflect on the honor it

is to perform with the incredible cast and crew in Fiddler On The Roof with The

Lexington Theatre Company, I’m reminded of the importance of theatre and the arts, not

just on Broadway or in professional regional companies, but at all levels.

Everyone has a memory of a school play, a holiday ballet, a field trip to see a local or

touring musical, or the first show they saw, that they remember fondly. Whether you

have seen one show in your life or many, exposure to theatre can change your life for

the better. Though some may see arts education as something that is unnecessary,

many believe the arts are a vital and important part of our society, and they are

especially essential to children. Why? Arts education often leads to better academic

success. A national study that used a federal database of over 25, 000 high school and

middle school students discovered that students with more participation in the arts

actually did better on standardized tests than students with less arts participation.

According to many studies, the arts build thinking skills, creativity, mathematics skills,

and an overall motivation to learn. It also can be used as a sort of therapy and helps

kids develop a strong imagination. However, despite its many benefits, arts funding is

being cut from many schools, and in a lot of schools, it’s nonexistent. However, many

local theater organizations are filling that void and helping children get the arts

education that they need. Lexington, KY, is lucky to have many of these local

theater groups, and I had the privilege of talking with some of the people doing this vital

work.

One of these wonderful organizations is the Lexington Children’s Theatre. LCT’s

mission is to create imaginative and compelling theatre experiences for kids and

families. They are a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1938 in Lexington,

Kentucky. I spoke recently with the Producing Artistic Director of LCT, Jeremy Kisling.

“My dream was always to be a director,” he says. Mr. Kisling got interested in theater

after doing a school musical in middle school and landing a lead role. After that, he went

to his local childrens’ theater and did many shows there. After college, he worked with a

group called 47 Seconds, which used theater to raise awareness on child abuse. He

then went back to grad school, and afterward came to Lexington, Kentucky and got a

job as the Education Director at Lexington Children’s Theater. In 2021, he became the

Producing Artistic Director. “Regardless of your color, regardless of your economic

status, I want you to see stories that are about you,” says Mr. Kisling when asked what

environment he tries to create with LCT. “I think it’s really important for everyone who

comes to a theater program to feel included, to feel like they belong.”

“Theater is a place where we have to connect as humans. We are reminded of our

humanity. We go into a space, we watch a story, and my hope is that that story impacts

you in some way, shape, or form. It asks you to think. It asks you to feel,” he says.

“Everybody has a story, and everybody’s story is important. With theater, we want to lift

up those stories and we want to understand that everybody’s story has validity and

should not be squashed.”

Another amazing theatre organization in Lexington is the Lexington Theatre Company.

As the area’s professional regional theatre organization, The Lex’s mission is to create

professional theatre and train the next generation of theatre artists. They bring

Broadway stars and professional actors from across the country to Lexington, as well as

casting a diverse group of local artists to create masterful storytelling. Lyndy Franklin-

Smith is one of the co-founders of the Lex and the Artistic Director. “My mom introduced

me to theatre, and we used to watch all of the movie-musicals that we could get our

hands on,” Ms. Franklin-Smith said when I spoke to her recently. “I felt the call very

early.” The Lexington Theatre Co. was started by Ms. Franklin-Smith and her husband,

Producing Director, Jeromy Smith, as a way to give back to Lexington’s theatre

community. “We use every opportunity as a teaching experience because we believe at

the Lex that we are lifelong students of the craft, so we never stop learning, we’re

always improving.” The Lex team always dreamed that there would be an education

wing along with the mainstage productions. Now, the Lex does private acting and vocal

coaching, and in recent years, they started an Artist Development Program, where kids

and adults can learn acting, singing, and dancing. The Artist Development Program has

a class for everyone - from the preschool-aged Explorers class to the Trailblazers class

for adults 55+. The Lex also does outreach programs. “There’s a place for every artist in

musical theatre because it takes every artist to do musical theatre.” She continues,

“Storytelling is how we understand. As humans, we are a meaning-making species.

Stories help us understand,” she says. When asked how she thinks theatre benefits

kids, Ms. Franklin- Smith answered, “While we’re learning singing and dancing and

acting and storytelling, we’re learning a whole lot more. We’re learning how to be

creative, we’re learning how to be confident, we’re learning how to problem-solve-

because how many times do things go wrong in rehearsal and shows? All the time! It

teaches us how to be resilient, it helps us make friends, it helps with our vocabulary and

our language, and our critical thinking.”

Another member of the Lex team is Brance Cornelious. Mr. Cornelious is the Education

and Outreach Coordinator at the Lexington Theatre Company. His job centers on

teaching children theater skills like acting, singing, and dancing. In addition to

education, Mr. Cornelius is an accomplished actor himself and has played many roles in

different shows across the nation. He got into theatre when he went to his older

brother’s high school play. His curiosity was sparked, but he didn’t know anything about

theatre. He learned throughout the years, and ended up loving it. He came to the Lex

after moving from Florida. He did two summer shows with the Lex, and when they

asked him if he would work in education, after a bit of hesitation, he said yes. Now he

teaches students in the art of theatre as well as still acting in shows. “There’s so many

great qualities in theatre that apply to everything in life,” he says. In addition to ADP

classes, The Lex also does outreach, where, in addition to community events, they

teach theatre classes in schools. “As part of outreach, we want to be there for any

school that asks us to be there,” he says. “Theatre is a benefit to the community

because it is bringing people from all walks of life together to have a shared

experience.” He continues, “It’s small ways, but art really can change the world.”

Anne Simendinger grew up in Northern Kentucky. As the youngest of five, she was

exposed to theatre from the very start because her older siblings were into theatre, and

she grew up seeing their shows. “I think it was just in my blood to be a theatre kid

myself,” she told me. Ms. Simendinger now works with Broadway Across America as

the Midwest Marketing Assistant, and she is based at the Aronoff Center in Cincinnati,

Ohio. Her job is to raise awareness for and help get people to come to Broadway

Across America shows at the Aronoff Center. ”I think theatre benefits kids in so many

ways! It allows them to know the power of dreams, and dreams coming true. Theatre

taught me so many things when I was a kid. I would see these shows with my mom and

my brother and my dad, and all of a sudden it would open up conversations for us to

talk about, that maybe weren’t things that I was being taught in school, but now that I’d

seen the show I was able to partake in a conversation,” she says. When asked if she

had any final thoughts, she said, “Theatre is one of the few things in our world where

real magic exists.”

All four of these incredible people are dedicating their lives to making the world a better

place through the imaginative, captivating, and important storytelling that we call

theatre. Theatre is a place of kindness, empathy, generosity, and more. There are many

studies to prove this, but, more importantly, there are people to prove it. People like

Jeremy Kisling, Lyndy Franklin-Smith, Brance Cornelious, and Anne Simendinger. All of

these people are kind, empathetic, and creative. Why? Because as kids, their lives were

affected by theatre, and that impact changed the course of their lives. We need theatre

in this world because it not only helps kids educationally, but it also helps them because

it is a creative outlet that cultivates compassion. It is a break from the stress of the

outside world, a chance to escape for a little while. But as schools cut arts funding,

people often don’t find it necessary. Keeping theatre in our world is a cause we need to

fight for, and the change starts with people like you, like me- change can start with

anyone. Support your local and regional theatres, whether by seeing a show, making a

donation, or taking a class! In Lexington, though, we are lucky because even with cuts

to school arts funding, we are fortunate to have people like the ones I’ve interviewed

and so many more who are working to make theatre open and accessible for all.