A major benefit of high school is that it gives ample time to explore new ideas and potential careers. It opens up doors for students to learn to become musicians, engineers, actors, and much more. However, it is less common for students to get the opportunity to work professionally in these fields while still in high school. At FHC, Senior Jack Lesch is among these students, working as a stage manager at the Fabulous Fox Theater for the Teen Talent production.
“Teen Talent is a region-wide scholarship program that recognizes talented young vocalists, dancers, and specialty artists,” Lee Ann Mathews, Director for Teen Talent, said. “This is the 16th year of Teen Talent, and we have awarded over $500,000 worth of scholarships, training opportunities, and prizes in that time.”
The Teen Talent production that Lesch is working with acts as a culmination of a competition for the performers participating. Rather than being a single show or play, Teen Talent works more like a collection of performances. According to Lesch, it also does not have much acting, focusing more on individual students. These performers, rather than representing a school, compete — often individually — for themselves.
“It has a show aspect to it, so we have performances that go on during awards. But all in all, it is an award ceremony,” Lesch said. “Right now we are rehearsing our opening act, so once the curtain rises and we start the ceremony, we have a whole musical number that’s going to happen… then the rest of what happens is going to be awards.”
As a Stage Manager, Lesch focuses on the technical aspects of the show. A lot of his jobs remain the same from FHC to Teen Talent.
“Minute-to-minute, I help wrangle and manage the actors during rehearsals, so at the Fox, I’ll be wrangling dancers or our circus performers… At FHC, I handle a lot of scheduling. I send out Reminds, so I have everyone’s contact info. If anyone needs to get in contact with someone in the program, I have their contact information,” Lesch said. “There’s a lot of paperwork. I help handle a lot of our legal stuff for us to classify as a non-profit, and a lot of that has to do with me being an officer on the board. It’s a lot of managing, it’s a lot of keeping track of what happens, and it’s a lot of scheduling.”
Lesch often deals with these responsibilities with vigor, and the changes they have made in his life are evident.
“Jack’s enthusiasm for the work is a wonderful reminder of how important it is to love what you do,” Mathews said. “Jack is definitely an inspiration and role model to other students who are interested in pursuing a life in the performing arts.”
Lesch’s enthusiasm and persistence are one major reason that he stood out. But being a strong candidate isn’t the only factor that goes into getting a position at the Fox. Connections matter too, and Lesch was able to network and gain connections at Thescon (a statewide event where people from theatre programs meet and grow skills).
“Initially, I went to Thescon, which is why I’m such a big advocate for Thescon… There was a booth for the Stage Managers Association… And there were representatives there, and one of them was a girl named Amy Page, and she is a part-time stage manager at the Fox and also works at the Gaslight theater,” Lesch said. “I got into contact with her, and I did an unofficial internship at the Gaslight Theatre… I applied for the position I currently have last year at Teen Talent, so I met Lee Ann [Mathews, the manager at Teen Talent,] briefly during my interview. I didn’t get the position, but I had her email, so I just kept talking with her… It was a lot of persistence and nagging on my end; as soon as I had an in, I was worming my way in, and they can’t get rid of me; and now I’m here.”
Mathews, however, didn’t seem to mind the persistence.
“Jack applied for the intern position of assistant stage manager, and I was very impressed with his experience level and passion for theatre,” Mathews said. “There were many applicants, and Jack’s professionalism and kindness made it easy to select him for the position.”
Yet, as time goes on, things change; the future is ever-present and ever approaching. Lesch’s plans for the future are still big.
“I’m going to try to weasel my way in to see if they need more help in other places. I know that’s a possibility, because one of the other interns from previous years has hung around,” Lesch said. “Her name is Bridget. She’s very nice, although she handles our coffee runs. I don’t know how glorious of a position that is, but I’m gonna try to squeeze my way in, and if I can’t get in at the Fox, I’ll probably go work at the Gaslight [a small local theatre] again.”
At FHC, Kimberley Harrison, the drama teacher, is happy for Jack and looking towards the bittersweet changes following Lesch’s Graduation.
“I’m going to cry a lot. We actually have a system in place where Jack is already actively training his replacement. We won’t have a void, but it won’t be Jack either, said Harrison. “ Jack is a good teacher and a good trainer, so I’m fully confident that Diana [Sanders] will be able to step up into Jack’s shoes, and then Diana will pick someone to train up in her place, and so on and so forth. We don’t have to start from scratch every time we have a senior graduate. But Jack is exceptional.”
