Check Out Megan Castleberry’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Castleberry

Hi Megan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My work in and passion for educational theater actually didn’t start until later in my life and was completely unexpected. Growing up I was determined to be a performer but primarily in ballet and concert dance. Upon applying for college, I soon realized that there wasn’t currently a school in my state, TN, that offered a dance major. I chose MTSU because they were the closest to starting a dance major (they now offer one) and I ended up majoring in Theater with a focus in choreography. My sophomore year while taking a jazz class, my professor asked if anyone would be interested in assisting with her friend’s elementary musical theater program as she was looking for a choreographer. I had never worked with kids before, and honestly wasn’t super interested in the idea, but was looking for more opportunities to improve my choreography skills within the context of my degree. Little did I know I would be meeting my best friend and falling in love with educational theater.

I have now been working with Aly Isom and her musical theater programs for 9 years and working in other educational environments for 7 years. I have directed, choreographed, stage managed, taught workshops, and performed in educational and youth theater in multiple theater programs in both Nashville and Austin, TX including The Junior Theater Festival, The Nashville Children’s Theater, TexArts, The Zach Theater, and multiple schools within Williamson County.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I think it would be unkind of me to not recognize the privilege that exists in my life when discussing any hardships I have faced. I come from an incredibly loving and supportive family; parents that have been there for me every step of the way, spending countless dollars on dance lessons and costumes, who always make sure through their own hard work and mine that I have a house over my head, food to eat, and a car to drive. All that being said, I also believe all people face hardships and have lessons to learn and it’s, in fact, their responsibility to learn in order to break generational traumas within their own lines and to raise the collective consciousness of our society. I’m a huge advocate for the benefits of therapy as it has made an incredible impact in my life recovering from some religious and sexual trauma as well as the everyday lessons of going through your twenties. I am also a supporter of getting involved in local, state, and federal politics as I believe learning about policies and current events makes us more compassionate for others and willing to fight for causes, even and especially if they don’t affect us immediately. Coming from a small town with a very insular community and belief system, these truths were something it took me years to work out, but looking back on the person I was then versus who I am today it makes me confident that it is possible for anyone to shift their focus outward and learn more about the people around them and to learn how to properly care for yourself.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Generally my work in theater centers around choreography and education but I also perform, direct, design, stage manage, teach voice/dance lessons, etc. I have learned through my work in education that being in those roles means you kind of have to do it all. I’ve stayed at theaters overnight painting sets for shows I was directing, I’ve programmed lights for shows I choreographed, and I’ve sewed many costumes and done lots of makeup and applied countless wigs and given my life and my love to all of my wonderful students. I often joke with my kiddos that theater makes you into the type of person that can do anything but it’s so incredibly true. If I had to pick the work I’m most proud of it would be my work at Mill Creek Middle School both in their yearly productions and in their work at The Junior Theater Festival. In fact, looking back, The Junior Theater Festival is truly what made me believe in educational and youth theater. My first year I thought it was going to be a small gathering of a few other educators and their groups until I walked in and was met with 6,000 students from around the world and watched their hard work come to fruition in some of the most creative and inspiring executions of theater I have ever seen. Over the years I have been able to create similar work with my students and watch them receive awards in music, ensemble, acting, etc, including an overall award where they were asked to perform on the mainstage at the festival. Seeing the work and creativity from not only my students but from all the students attending the festival makes so so consistently proud and is the single most inspiring experience of my year every year.

What matters most to you? Why?
I think I can best sum up what matters to me with a section of a quote from my favourite comfort movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. The entire quote goes: “To see the world; things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, to draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of Life.” but the section that has always meant the most to me is “to find each other, and to feel.” I truly believe that at the heart of every action we take as humans is for the purpose of connection. I think this is what has always drawn me to theater and to performance. Storytelling is such an integral aspect of humanity to everything from putting a story on stage for an audience to telling your friend about your day over a beer at happy hour. That instinct for connection exists throughout the things that we invent, the way we structure our social time, and all of the art that we create and have created from the beginning of all of it. I strive to make the importance of connection be the center of my art and the center of all my relationships.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.megancastleberrytheaterartist.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meganrc13/