Recently, I was thrilled to discover that a friend and colleague of mine is performing in the Waco Civic Theater’s production of White Christmas this month. Elesha Coffman teaches American history with me at Baylor, and she’s been here for several years but I never knew she had a foot in the art world. As it turns out, she has 2 feet in the art world.
She has been a singer since her youth and has always sought out choral groups wherever she’s lived, seeking an outlet for that creative energy that all musicians feel. It’s a drive that can only be satisfied by making music with others, and, also, for an audience. At her institution where she taught before she came to Baylor, she was in a production of Thoroughly Modern Millie.
She’s performing in White Christmas as part of what’s classified as the “vocal ensemble.” As a singer she’s naturally a soprano but can also cover alto parts when needed. Even tenor parts sometimes, she said. She’s a utility player. The two other classifications in this and other similar productions are “named roles” and the “dance ensemble.” There are some numbers, however, in which everyone does some choreography, so she’ll be doing some dancing as well. At least one of those dances I know is a tap number.
The other day I asked her a question I’ve often directed at myself: Do you see any connection between what you do in a stage production like this and what teachers like you and I do in the classroom? Her response was an enthusiastic yes. In fact, she’d written a blog post about it back during Covid.
“Teaching is a performance, and the gifts of the performer matter,” she says. She describes very nicely the “collective effervescence” that develops in a good classroom. Voice projection, body language, and set design all matter, she notes. “In person, the teacher can read students’ reactions and use that feedback, and that energy, to fuel the presentation.” Any performer, on a stage or in a lecture hall can relate. Whether I’m playing music live or telling the story of the New Deal, I depend on an interaction with my audience.
About that interaction live in the classroom, Coffman also points out that, like live theater, it can inspire those watching to believe that, with a little practice, they might someday be able to do something similar themselves. I like that a lot.
The classic White Christmas, presented by the Waco Civic Theater and featuring my colleague Elesha Coffman, starts its run next Thursday the 14th with performances through the 17th and then again on the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd. I can’t think of a better way to ring in the holiday season.