If you pass Jay Sierszyn in the hallway and ask him how he's doing, he will be the first to warn you, "I'm going to answer with a story." The WLC theatre professor of 21 years is set retire at the end of the semester. 成为一名讲故事的人似乎是西耶森进入戏剧职业的曲折道路的核心:“当我被问到我是做什么的时候, I say that I 'tell stories.' In many ways, that encompasses what I do in theatre."
It took a series of educational, career, and life experiences for Sierszyn to eventually realize his calling to theatre education. Perhaps the earliest nudge came from a most unlikely place - a funeral home. "My aunt and uncle owned a funeral home, and we would have big family Christmases in the reception hall. It was a perfect play area as a kid! My cousins and I would do 'shows' up front where the casket would normally be on display."
Throughout high school and somewhat into college, Sierszyn thought he was going to end up being a band director. He was heavily involved in instrumental music, and could play percussion, baritone saxophone, and clarinet in addition to his main instrument, the alto saxophone. He credits his high school music instructor, Dave Krubsack, with being the one who opened his eyes to becoming an educator: "Still to this day, I think he had the most influence on my going into the vocation of teaching. It was just who he was and what he did."
Between Sierszyn's freshman and sophomore years of college, he joined a traveling Christian pop music-theatre group called Joy Incorporated. The troupe toured the country in a converted school bus, performing concerts and children's shows at churches and schools along the way. “那段时间真的巩固了我的信仰——我们每天一起学习圣经，确实如此, in a sense, a very public ministry.这段经历也指引着他在教学之路上走得更远:“它让我更加清楚地感受到音乐和戏剧的职业召唤。, as well as to teach."
The dramatic shift toward a career in theatre education, however, would soon come as a sort of "aha" moment. 在康考迪亚师范学院(现为芝加哥康考迪亚大学)攻读音乐教育学位期间, he encountered a formidable roadblock, otherwise known to Sierszyn as Music Theory II. "The Lord made me realize how music should maybe just be a minor. He showed me that I just wasn't gifted that way."
Upon graduating from college, Sierszyn began teaching English at an all-boys Catholic high school in Chicago. In addition to his teaching duties, he coached wrestling, started a speech program, and ran the after-school drama club. "I taught there for four years, and I kind of came out thinking, 'Sure I developed their speech program (which they didn't previously have), but what I really wanted to do happened at 2:30 in the afternoon.' "
Realizing that he was most "in his element" while leading the drama club, 为了培养自己的激情，西森进入了北伊利诺伊大学的研究生院. Sierszyn then began applying to college teaching positions. “我最终收到了120多封拒绝信，或者是说‘对不起，我们没有空缺.' " Now armed with a Master of Arts in Theatre, 在等待进入大学的黄金机会的同时，他又回到了一所路德教会高中教英语和演讲.
坚持终于得到了回报，西尔斯琴收到了森林城市华尔道夫学院戏剧课程的录取通知书, Iowa, where he served on the faculty for 13 years. He continued to nurture his gifts in theatre and teaching by completing Ph.D. coursework at the University of Missouri, 并通过参与专业团体，如高等教育戏剧协会(ATHE). In time, Sierszyn became ready to author the next "act" of his career.
他回忆起几年前在纽约举行的ATHE大会上，他遇到了信誉最好的网投平台排名的一位戏剧教授. “我参加了(大会上的)一个文科焦点小组，有个人向我走来，她的名字叫简·纳尔逊(Jan Nelson)，来自信誉最好的网投平台排名. 她问我是否有兴趣回到密尔沃基，因为她刚刚开始了WLC的课程, and was looking at developing and expanding the faculty."
Several years later, and at a career crossroads, Sierszyn remembered the serendipitous meeting, and reached back out to Nelson: "She said, 'You're kidding, we just offered a position to someone who turned it down, and we have an opening starting in the fall!' " After a series of subsequent campus visits and meetings with faculty, students, and administrators, Sierszyn accepted the call to serve at WLC. The change did not happen without some anxiety about facing the unknown, but Sierszyn trusted God to light the way: "And so came fall of 2002, 我记得我对自己说:“在你所在的地方——上帝会召唤你，为你安排一条道路——但你可能只看到最初的几步。.' "
sierzyn信誉最好的网投平台排名戏剧系的第一年致力于教学布景设计和灯光. While not the focus of his graduate studies, he was nonetheless skilled in these areas from experiences in college and the classroom. “我觉得，在那些时候，我不知道，主正在为我信誉最好的网投平台排名的这一刻做准备."
多年来，教师和项目的变化逐渐使西森的角色变得更加全面. 这些扩大的机会让西耶森更深入地投入到他的职业召唤中:“我从来都不是一名教师. 我的任务是“教学方面”，让学生明白他们为什么要学戏剧，并让他们明白这不仅仅是为了表演. It's conveying to my students what I have learned and experienced in theatre."
Apropos of his self-description as a storyteller, Sierszyn understands theatre to be the art of telling the human story. "You can't have theatre without the subject matter being human life." He helps students recognize that, when engaging with scripts and shows, characters will reflect real people, warts and all. "Students freak out when I say, 'There's probably not going to be theatre in heaven.' In plays, we are exploring what it means to be human, and that includes our sinful nature."
西尔斯琴通过课堂来理解作为一名基督教戏剧学生和观众意味着什么:“在某些方面, every story is a Christian story. 如果你从基督教的角度来理解人类的意义——这就是戏剧中所发生的——我们就能从角色的行为中看到“为什么”. We can see how we have these same errors or challenges.他鼓励学生分析从节目中学到的教训，并将其应用到他们的灵修生活中:“希望如此。, good theatre makes them think, 'How is my life? How am I reflected in this story? 怎样通过祷告的思考和读经的过程来加强我的信心呢?' "
Whether serving as director, designer, or producer, 在他21年的WLC职业生涯中，他几乎参与了拉贝剧院的每一部作品. To him, a good show is one that connects students and audiences to something known, while at the same time exposing them to the unknown: "If it's too cliche, and there's nothing new and nothing different, then it's a snooze. On the other hand, 一个故事不应该被灌输到不同的文化中，或者以一种人们不知道发生了什么的方式来讲述. No, we need enough of what we recognize, and yet be told something new."
When pressed for the favorite play from his WLC tenure, Sierszyn answered, wryly: "My favorite show is the next one. I know that's pretty cliche, but I feel I am called to be in the moment." His sentiment is more than just a passing platitude to evade a ponderous question. Rather, 西耶森的态度可以追溯到他对自己职业的理解:“我认为这在很大程度上是一件戏剧式的事情——投身于此时此地, and to be present on stage and in rehearsals."
Of course, Sierszyn wasn't without a handful of highlights as seen from the director's chair. The seasoned theatre professor remembered fondly Dead Man Walking, which he produced with an "ensemble" - or group-centered - approach. "It was this very loose kind of thing. Most of the characters weren't cast until about eight to ten days before we opened, and it drove the students nuts. 我让他们把很多自己的“自我”带到角色身上，并对主题进行研究. There were times for sharing thoughts and perspectives - it was a very artsy-fartsy, blended approach." The most poignant moment of the show, however, “我们用幕布把拉贝剧院围起来，让观众坐在中间靠得很近. When the death-row inmate character was going to his execution, the rest of the cast members sang the hymn What Wondrous Love from behind the curtains. Now, whenever I hear that hymn, I think about how effective that was in the show."
The Tempest was another favorite: "The cast was wonderful and so willing to explore things. We brought back alumni to be in the show and to compose the music." Sierszyn's memories kept on flowing: "How to Succeed in Business was my first big show at WLC. One of the cool things with that was that we had a working elevator door on the set. The un-rehearsed Shakespeares, The Bending of the Bow - the ones I'm thinking of all came out of the "ensemble" experience and were not as scripted. These shows had creativity that came out of being in the moment, which made them totally unique."
Not all of the memorable moments happened at show time, however. In fact, many of the most meaningful experiences occurred behind the curtain. "Other memories weren't seen by others. All of the backstage and shop work, the laughter from students coming out of rehearsal - I say to myself, 'That's why I like doing this.' "
Sierszyn considers his circuitous career path to be a tremendous blessing. Though a more straightforward trajectory may have been easier at times, the twists and turns have given him untold opportunities to grow and serve. 只有在事后，他才能看到神是如何使用这些情况和经历来装备他去服事别人. "We don't always know why the Lord leads us on paths that are disconnected, but then we come back later in life and realize 'Oh, that's why that happened!' "
sierzyn努力创造一种环境，让学生们喜欢这些类型的职业积木. He realizes that, just as in his own experience, many will be called to serve in ways they don't yet know. A number of WLC theatre students have, of course, gone on to do professional theatre as actors, writers, technicians, and managers. Many more, however, have found themselves serving their neighbor off the stage. "The way we do theatre very much fits the mission of WLC. 我们同样想要庆祝那些职业召唤最终没有在剧院的人，就像我们在这个领域的校友一样. There is so much more than just your major. Does that connect with me? Yeah! I was never a theatre-only guy."
Sierszyn's WLC swan song, Quilters, will premier in April 2023. Set in Pioneer America, 这部音乐剧用被子的图案和补丁来代表一个错综复杂的故事网络:“In Quilters, we hear many of these little stories, or 'patches,' and just like a quilt, they become part of a larger thing that is passed on from generation to generation.这位伟大的讲故事的人再也找不到比这更完美、更令人心酸的演出了.
