We recently connected with Sharon Maley and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Sharon, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Over the 13 years I’ve been a Career and Technical Education (CTE) Theatre Teacher at a public school in South Bay San Diego, I’ve tried to connect my students to Theatre apprenticeships or internships, only to see them struggle with transportation and parental support. So, I decided I would bring the apprenticeships to them, by embedding them into the run of our spring production of Thornton Wilder’s “The Matchmaker”. I created the first ever “Pre-Professional Program” and presented the idea to our district CTE and Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) Departments. Carlos Mendoza and Catalina Maynard from Cygnet Theatre came on-board, and together, we collaborated to develop a beautiful partnership. The apprenticeships were in Costuming (Janet Pitcher), Hair/Wigs and Makeup (Monique Hanson), and Stage Management (Maria Orozco-Smith). Students worked in teams alongside the professionals, learning their craft during the rehearsal process. This project was a dream-come-true: witnessing the transformation of my students into people who KNOW they can change the world! For me, Theatre is about my Five Cs: Collaboration, Communication, Creativity, Confidence and Commitment. I tell my students that these Five Cs will be the key to their success, and that Theatre is the perfect tool to learn/experience them. This project reinforced that those Five Cs are as key in the professional world as they are in the classroom!

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?

Stories. Since I can remember, I’ve loved, lived, breathed and created stories. I’m passionate about empowering others to see and seize their own stories. Sometimes, that’s through stepping into existing stories, such as plays. Other times, it’s creating stories together, or voicing their own journey. I SEE the world-changing, positive potential in individuals, and I instill confidence in them to use their voices and step into their stories.

The best way to illustrate this is to tell you the true story of Yani Avila.

Yani and I met during COVID. He was a student in my Beginning Drama Class…online! He was one of the few students who turned his camera on, yet he was struggling to keep up in class. As an extra credit assignment, we did a radio play together and performed it for the class. He was amazing! He continued in my Drama program for the next three years. During that journey, I found out he and his mother had fled Mexico to escape domestic abuse. When I first met him, he was living in a homeless shelter and taught himself English in six months so he could help his mother. In Yani’s words, “My mother was working all day, and you were like my second mother. You taught me about the skills I needed to succeed in this country.”

I saw the seeds of leadership in Yani and challenged him to be a Stage Manager. He was an apprentice Stage Manager in the Pre-Professional Program with Cygnet Theatre and has embraced the opportunities I’ve put before him. Now, he’s an A student heading to college! Through our time together in the Drama program, I’ve had the honor of being a part of Yani’s amazing story.

I’m currently in an exciting time of transition out of the traditional classroom and am ready to explore how I can give others a voice to tell their stories, create stories collaboratively, and confidently change the world!

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I’m sure this is a common theme, but I used to think everyone innately understood the value of creatives, but we live in a monetized culture where Art isn’t always valued in and of itself. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of trying to make money at it. So many classic works of Art exist because the artists had wealthy patrons. Throughout my journey as a Theatre Artist, I’ve struggled with money vs. the dream and felt my work wasn’t valuable unless I earned a living at it.

A year and a half ago, I began working with Kathryn R Martin, a “Next Chapter” coach who helps leaders get unstuck and curate lives of impact, joy, ease, and financial sustainability. Through my time with her, I’ve learned that my impact has value everyday, whether it’s in the small details of life, such as spending time with my husband or children, or a huge project, like directing a show. The monetary value doesn’t diminish or increase the value of the impact on the world as I live in the fulness of my purpose every day.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think the term “non-creatives” is a misnomer. I have yet to come across an individual who isn’t creative in some way. I honestly believe that we’re all given creativity as a stamp of our humanity. Most of us don’t make a living through our pure creative outlet, but it comes out in surprising ways: cooking, gardening, knitting, creating greeting cards or wrapping gifts, decorating a table or a room…the possibilities are endless. I think if, as a culture, we thought about what would happen if creativity were stripped from our existence, we’d realize it’s all around us: in our packaging, clothing, car designs, architecture…even our social media page! We have more in common than we think. It’s the monetizing of creativity that sets us apart from each other. To get back to the question, though, I think devaluing creativity as a career is harmful. I see it in the educational system constantly through the cutting of artistic programs and lack of funding or support. Funding reveals priorities, and though everyone enjoys the benefits of the Arts, few realize support is needed for artists to produce. Let’s all read the story of “The Little Red Hen” together, shall we?

Contact Info:

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Image Credits
Headshot by Paul Gallegos Matchmaker photos by Karli Cadel