In advance of this year's Senior School Theatre Company's production of The Yellow Suitcase and Other Migration Stories, taking place this Thursday, March 6 and Friday, March 7 (tickets still available here), we're pleased to share a faculty spotlight on Ms. MacGregor, who has been a member of the Southridge community for over ten years and has been teaching drama and theatre for the last eight. She spearheads the Senior School Theatre Company’s annual theatre production and produces the Spring One Act Play Festival. 

Can you share a bit about your journey and how you became a drama teacher?

I grew up in Toronto and attended a high school for the arts. At the age of ten years old, I began acting professionally in commercials, plays, film, and television (i.e. Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High. For parents who may remember the shows, I played Allison Hunter in the original series and then and was in two episodes of Degrassi the Next Generation with Drake).

I enjoyed acting at first, but when I was 18 years old, my agent began stealing from me and I became disillusioned with the business. At the same time, I began teaching drama for the city and quickly fell in love with sharing my passion for drama and theatre with pre-teen/teenaged children.  

From then until now I have loved the sense of community that theatre and drama build naturally, and I really find joy in helping others discover those pinnacle moments and ignite  passions. 

What is your educational background in drama education?

I studied acting at Queens in Kingston initially and then transferred to Dalhousie as I found it was more practical and based on the national theatre school program (it also helped that my friend, Mike, went there - my now husband…). While in the process of obtaining my BFA Honours in Theatre-Acting at Dalhousie University, I decided to give the entertainment industry a try again and was booking acting jobs, but I also had secured a variety of teaching jobs through the university to facilitate theatre workshops and camps to middle years children. I realized how much I loved working with children, so the practical side of my brain kept telling me to pursue that. I decided to return home to Toronto and complete my Bachelor or Education at York University while working as a professional actor. The idea was to act and maybe substitute teach for a few years. A unique opportunity came along to establish a brand new drama program at a newly built school based on Global Education, so I focused on teaching because that is where I felt I truly belonged.

What is your teaching philosophy when it comes to drama education?

I am firm in my belief that all students can benefit from drama education– it is not about becoming actors– students who then become adults use the skills they learned in drama and theatre again and again. Throughout the years I have gotten emails and social media messages abound from former students telling me how much drama or theatre has changed them and has helped them develop their jobs or their lives  — and as human beings. Of course there have been the odd few that have gone on to be part of the entertainment industry in some capacity, but most have led very diverse careers from law to real estate to engineering to medicine to business.

How do you approach fostering creativity and expression in your students?

In any unit of study, I want to see what comes from the students first – see how they connect to the topic or technique first and to one another – this then helps me to see the way in – it is never the same – I approach each topic/unit differently because the class dynamic and students are different each time through. Sometimes, when faced with a roadblock, students tell me, “Ms. MacGregor, it's just not going to work.”  I invite them to see a way through the problem – there is always a solution. One thing I believe with vehemence is that there is never a wrong choice as long as there has been a purposeful choice – there may be a better one, but there is never a wrong one. There is always a way to make something work if the motivation is there to do it. Always go for the bigger risk – the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward. Sure, it could also end in big failure, but then it is a big, bold failure, and a huge learning experience– after all, in education isn't that what it is supposed to be about?            

Can you share a memorable moment or success story from your time as a drama teacher?

So many…big and small, there are honestly too many to count – this is the drug that keeps people hooked to this profession. Teaching theatre and drama fills my cup with purpose everyday because I know I am making a difference in the world, by helping others to make a difference in the world, by supporting teens to find their way. I get the most from the little moments of success - like a big ‘aha’ moment when a student unlocks a tough section in a scene or when a parent comes to me crying saying, “Thank you for helping to turn my child around.” There are so many memorable moments – from thundering applause, to a student becoming a teacher. In the theatre there is a saying, “There are no small parts, only small actors” and as a drama teacher, just as there are no small parts, there are no days where one is not rewarded in some way.

What challenges have you faced in teaching drama, and how do you overcome them?

The biggest challenges I faced when I was teaching in the public system in Ontario were  lack of budget and having to work through some extremely tough moments with  students that were challenged in extreme ways. At Southridge, my biggest challenge is lack of time and space. With such a small pool of students who are involved in so many other wonderful co-curriculars and the demands on the faculty of our time in a full school capacity, it is difficult to prioritize the rehearsal process. When I first came to Southridge the previous drama teacher warned me of the weekend commitment one needed to have. I shrugged it off, thinking that I would be able to hold rehearsals without impacting weekend time – I quickly realized I was wrong for so many reasons – lack of time and always clamouring for space, both performance and storage space, made me realize that weekends were a reality that I would just have to get behind if I wanted to run a successful theatre program at Southridge.            

Have you witnessed any transformative experiences for students through their involvement in drama?

So many – from students who are super shy at the beginning of the process to having big confidence at the end, to those who struggle with memorization and find that they, in fact, can do it, to those who take on massive leadership roles and feel empowered to lead, but also when they feel confident enough to fail boldly.  For any teenager to feel this is a win! I have been witness to all of it and am so proud of them for developing resilience and growth. Again, that is why this profession is like the drug of purpose–the more transformational experiences we are witness to, the more purpose we feel, and I believe that is what keeps our cup of purpose filled to the brim.