Teachers drawn inspiration from iconic entertainers

It can be hard to imagine that teachers were once as embarrassingly obsessed with famous idols as most students are currently. When she was younger, English 10 and drama teacher Sarah Thermond obsessively watched and re-watched several screenplays and movies all starring her favorite actress, Emma Thompson.

Thompson is a British actress, screenwriter, activist, author and comedian. Thermond discovered Thompson in high school when she saw her lead performance as Elinor Dashwood in the screenplay for “Sense And Sensibility” by 18th century English novelist Jane Austen. Thermond was quickly intrigued by Thompson’s over-the-top, hilarious acting. Since then, she has shared the well-performed screenplay with many friends and family members who also found Thompson’s performance impactful, despite being unfamiliar with acting.

“I feel like people who already know a lot about acting can respect what she does, and people who don’t know much about acting can still respond to it,” Thermond said. “I think that makes someone an ideal artist and performer.”

Thompson has starred in many children’s films, historical pieces and modern movies, playing professor Trelawney in the “Harry Potter” films, the main character Fiona Maye in “The Children Act” and the titular nanny in “Nanny McPhee.” Thermond admires Thompson’s versatility above all.

“I feel like in a lot of the performing arts in the media world, it’s really easy for performers to get typified to be only able to do one thing,” Thermond said. “I really respect somebody who with their career has tried to show that you don’t have to limit yourself and you can do a bunch of different things and be equally successful in all of them.”

She also admires Thompson’s “sassy speech” in the style of Austen, inspiring Thermond to also use a similar style of writing and speech while teaching and re-enacting plays.

This style also encouraged Thermond to be aware of an important writing mechanism: adapting styles from other writers as a starting point. Thermond uses this concept herself when writing screenplays, and teaches her students to “get familiar with the narrative voice of an author, then comment upon it.”

Another performing arts teacher, choir and orchestra teacher Andrew Ford, also draws inspiration from an artist he admires: American composer and conductor John Williams. Williams has composed many film scores, his most famous ones backing the “Star Wars” series, “Jaws” and the “Jurassic Park” films.

According to Ford, Williams’ musical pieces aren’t simply “notes on a page,” but create a story that is “inspiring and relatable to life.” He teaches this same message to his students.

“When we sing a choir piece, play an orchestra piece or do a marching band show, all of the music should be telling a story,” Ford said. “Williams’ music always reminds me to help my students do this.”

Williams’ work motivated Ford to become a music educator.

“Role models are necessary because we all need to be inspired even when we think we’ve ‘finished’ our journey like when we complete college or get a job,” Ford said. “They help us continue to grow and find new goals.