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Alexander Mangold Mrs.Cramer College Comp . Pd 1 1 October 2021 Theatre Spotlight: Me Theatre. Not such a big deal in today's world but it’s a big thing in mine. I’ve been in my high school's stagecraft program for 4 years now, and I’ve loved every second of it. Setting up props, making light plots, hauling equipment back and forth, it's all fun to me. Even though the class only takes up one 40-minute period, the after-school work takes up more time than my job. This year, I was lucky enough to get a clear schedule and spend half my day with Dutko, the stagecraft teacher, doing work for him and the school. That plus the regular class means I get to spend three and a half hours a day doing stagecraft. Plus, all the after schoolwork I get to do means I spend upwards of 5 hours a day in the theatre doing what I love: lighting. Lighting. This is my passion. Ever since freshman year I’ve been in love with everything to do with theatre lighting. I’ve made lighting plots and set them up for numerous plays and musicals and whenever we have a school presentation, I set up the lights. Freshman year, my friend Zayne convinced me to join the stagecraft program, and I joined because I had nothing better to fill my schedule with. Little did I know that I would find my passion in this class. There’s something about setting up the lights and seeing the result, the process of designing a light plot and working with limited materials, having an idea and putting it onto the stage, is the best feeling in the world. Even though a large portion of my passion for lighting has come purely

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from exposure to the class, it would be a crime not to mention the best teacher I’ve ever had, Mr. Dutko. I wouldn’t be who I am without Mr. Dutko. He has taught me so much and been such a role model for me. He has taught this class for the entirety of my career here and without him the class would bland, and I don’t think I would have ever taken a second year or really even finished the class in the first place. He infuses the class with such life and his teaching style is so unique I wish I could spend another year in the class just so I could be around Dutko. If he could come with me to college and teach me, it would be a dream come true. He is such an amazing teacher that my dream job is coming back to Bradford and teach the stagecraft class with him. He inspires me to do my best in class, to go the extra mile, and is a large part if not the entirety of the reason I want to continue doing theatre. If it wasn’t for this class and its amazing teacher I wouldn’t be the person I am today. I wouldn’t be so interested in theatre and its inner workings, and I’m extremely grateful for the fact that I had the opportunity to take this class for 4 years with such an amazing teacher.