We recently connected with Jimmy Hippenstiel and have shared our conversation below.
Jimmy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?
I have been earning a living doing what I love in the Entertainment Business for literally my entire life. Although it is not the MOST financially rewarding profession out there, the Rewards come back to me in so many other ways. I tried to have a Major in Journalism when I first started college, but realized I was stressed out about missing print deadlines because I was always performing throughout the days and nights. So, although I knew I was a very good writer, I also easily knew where my heart truly was taking me, and I decided to make an official go at living as a Musical Theater Performer. The rest just kind of fell into place. As I started to get work regularly, I was often requested to continue working at various companies because I had a strong work ethic, a very evident reliability factor, and an obvious love for what I was doing. During my time with the Young Americans just out of high school, they identified me as a “dancer,” even though I may not have been fully aware of that myself, so I refined my dancing talents throughout college and was ready to take on the workforce. Singing and Acting were never much of an issue for me since the age of 5, so I guess I was a “triple threat” of sorts. One other thing that kept me working consistently was that I never overly cared about being in the spotlight, and was just as thrilled to dance and sing in a talented Ensemble as I was being cast as the occasional Lead. That, and being a Guy is never a bad thing in Theater, because let’s face it, they just have an easier go of it than most gals do. Along the way, I also discovered I had a knack for teaching young students about performing, and I kind of naturally fell into the dual role of Performer/Teacher-Mentor. Those skills landed me at the Musical Theatre Academy of Orange County, where I have been teaching for the last 22 years. I feel it is SO important to pass on my passion for Musical Theater to other like-minded students of the Arts, because I have become who I am today by learning from the best, from the Directors at MY Children’s Theater Junior University, to my school teachers in Rialto, California, to the Young Americans and Citrus Singers, to the folks at Disney and Princess Cruises, and more. Even to this day, I continue to learn things FROM my wonderful students. You’re never too old to learn, you just sometimes feel like you are!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I talked extensively in the previous question about how I got my start in “The Biz.” My current “Biz” has primarily become running the Musical Theatre Academy of Orange County as the Executive Artistic Director, as well as the Productions Director and Choreographer for Ages 7 through 18. I have assembled a wonderfully talented staff to teach the younger students and to assist me. I hate saying this myself, although I should be proud enough to do so, but people in the Orange County area have often deemed us to be the “Premiere” training grounds for kids who want to pursue a career in Musical Theater. Our brand vision is “Every Child Deserves a Chance to Shine,” so we do our absolute best to bring out the full potential in each and every student who enrolls in our program. Even those who do not go on to do theater professionally learn a self-confidence and a sense of self-esteem that they may not have felt before, and it serves them well in ANY career path they choose. We teach students the proper techniques to hone their skills, and encourage them to get out of their heads and just BE the best performer WE know they can be. I have countless students who come into our doors singing tone-deaf and tripping over their own feet, and then they grow through the process to become successful stage performers, even including some who got their big break on Broadway. We do not turn anyone away through audition cuts, because EVERY Child deserves a chance to SHINE!
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
Most “Non-Theater” types truly do not realize just how expensive it can be to put on a high quality stage production for all to see. A single show can easily cost us upwards of 30 Grand, and that is holding back a bit from where we would like to be. Professional Theaters get by primarily through people spreading the word about shows, well thought out social media interaction and advertising, but mostly, from generous donors who love and support the Arts. I know for a fact we would not even be in business without the support of our MTAOC Families and a few outside individuals who have recognized the quality and importance of what we do for these kids. We do NOT have enough of a donor list to feel financially stable, we are always keeping an eye on the bank account and doing just enough to get by, which is a shame, because our students deserve the absolute best. “Society” (a.k.a.”Theater Lovers”) can always help by making well-needed donations, helping theaters with grant writing and spreading the word about financial need, and ALWAYS by attending Live Theatrical Shows as much as possible. Getting butts in those seats is the ultimate way to succeed, and the BEST way to show support for the hard work our students do to get to that polished finished product.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Let’s talk about how Covid-19 in March of 2020 brought all theatrical productions to a halt! I have never in my lifetime seen anything this challenging that closed the doors of SO many theaters and theater groups that had been around seemingly for forever. We would NOT throw in the towel when most people did. We continued to work on the two productions we were doing, rehearsing masked and out in our parking lot, and we put those shows up on time IN the Parking Lot with a portable makeshift stage, live musicians, masked performers, and food trucks that we brought in to make it a kind of dinner theater experience with all the tables socially distanced and a masked audience. We are across the street from an Airport, so planes were flying overhead, and the line to our restroom was monitored with people six feet apart. The whole experience was weird, but highly successful. We lost some scared folks from the show, but those of us that stuck together determined not to give in to the challenges of the world showed real “The Show Must Go On” resilience, and our casts and audiences were SO thankful in the end. I was given a plaque for my desk that says “Goal Getter” that will forever remind me to defy the odds no matter how defeating the situation may seem to be.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mtaoc.org
- Instagram: @mtaoc
- Facebook: facebook.com/mtaoc