Aaron Yowell is the new technical theater director here on campus. He’s been teaching for 16 years for the performing arts. Before this, he taught at Wakeland High School. He is participating in the creation of the upcoming shows: Chemical Imbalance and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Wingspan: Can you please tell me a little bit about what you teach?
Yowell: “I teach theater and technical theater here on campus, I teach Theater 1 and Intermediate Theater 1 which are predominantly acting, but also general theater classes, then I teach Technical Theater 1 and Technical Theater 2, 3, and 4, which are the classes that deal with the lights, the sound, the props, all of the building elements of a production.”
Wingspan: Where did you teach before here?
Yowell: “Liberty is the 5th school I’ve taught at, I taught in Colorado for 4 years, I worked at a charter school here in Frisco for 6 years, I was in Plano ISD at a middle school for a year, and then I taught at Wakeland High School for 4 years.”
Wingspan: Why did you choose to come to this campus?
Yowell: “I chose Liberty because I heard nothing but fantastic things about the students. I wanted to have the opportunity to work with KA, and I saw a program that needed a jumpstart, and I am very good at that.”
Wingspan: What did you do prior to teaching?
Yowell: “I went to college. I have taught my entire life. I had one year in between moving from Colorado to Texas where I taught private voice and piano lessons, and then last year after I left Wakeland, I was an ETC authorized service provider for a year.”
Wingspan: When did you realize your love for theater?
Yowell: “When I was 14 years old, we went and saw a production of The Importance of Being Earnest in downtown Denver, and I went ‘Oh, that’s really cool’ and then I remember being a teacher at Colorado Thespian Festival, seeing a production of The Servant of Two Masters, and I went ‘That. I wanna direct that. That’s what I wanna teach.’”
Wingspan: Are you excited to be the tech director for the upcoming shows?
Yowell: “Oh my gosh, I am so pumped to be the tech director for these upcoming shows, the fall play and the musical in particular, I am so excited to bring Victorian England to our stage and then bring Paris to Liberty High School.”
Wingspan: What would teaching a typical class look like for you?
Yowell: “Come in, hang out, we tell a story, get everybody laughing, get everybody comfortable, and then we’re on the move. We’re either taking a little bit of notes, or we’re doing a warm-up, or we’re working on an acting game, or we’re creating. We’re hanging lights, building sets, we’re cleaning, we’re making everything better. My classes are very hands on, very on the move, whether it’s acting or teaching tech.”
Wingspan: How would you describe your relationship with your students?
Yowell: “I think the students and I have a very healthy, positive relationship, they work very hard, and they feel comfortable and respected in my classroom.”
Wingspan: Who has been your support system throughout your career?
Yowell: “My non-teaching support system has been my grandmother, she’s been my support system my entire life, she will never miss a production, she gives me good, matriarcal outside perspective. My wife is my creative support system outside of Liberty, she has BFA in art, she is also very logical, so she helps me balance my brain, and then here on campus, KA and the upperclassmen have been my support system. Just to bounce ideas off of them.”
