Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Toni Butler. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Toni, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Two of my favorites:

I founded Kensington Theatre Company in 2008. I believe theatre should enrich the lives of the people it touches. So, I had an idea in 2019 to produce The Fantasticks in honor my high school drama teacher, Russ Johnson. Russ was diagnosed with Alzheimers and I wanted to show him my love and appreciation before he didn’t remember anymore by producing his favorite musical. So, I selected a cast (two were actually in it in high school with Russ). We invited him to our first read through and he sang along with us. It was very sweet. We performed in our Black Box Theatre so we removed two seats and put in a comfortable chair that he would sit in each night to watch the show. We invited alumni from Taylorsville High to also come celebrate with us. Each night felt like a brand new show. He would clap and cry. And at the end when the cast sang “Try to Remember”, our “El Gallo” went into the audience and sat with Russ while the cast sang it to him. It was a touching experience we all won’t ever forget. This is is my kind of theatre!

This year, I had another idea: To produce Inclusion Theatre (a seamless collaboration with special needs actors) . It was always an idea in my heart, but I teamed with Chelsea Lopez (Inclusion Cheer) and together we figured out how to make it a reality. Our school musical at Early Light Academy last year was Frozen (April , 2022) and we invited 13 Inclusion Actors to join us. They were doubled up with an Early Light Actor who helped them learn their role. They also had an ELA Alumni Buddy to help them offstage. We seamlessly wove them into the production by casting them in roles where they would shine brightest. It was a joy to hear their parents say things like “you celebrated her voice” or “you put him in the perfect role”. Chelsea gave my y favorite compliment; she said Frozen was “the most inclusive theatre experience” she had ever witnessed. It was a beautiful production that was so successful we decided to do it again this October with Early Light Academy’s school musical, Cinderella. We are busy working on it right now! This is my kind of theatre!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I fell in love with theatre in junior high! I loved to perform and I was good at it! When I got to high school, I was very successful. One day, my teacher, Russ Johnson, asked if I would directed/coach other students in their pieces. So, I gave it a try and found that I had a talent for helping others be just as successful at theatre as I was. I knew then I wanted to be a Theatre Teacher. I also had a deep dream to open my own theatre and call it Kensington Theatre. I would sketch this theatre in my bored, dreamy moments. Fast forward. I got my degree in Theatre Education and worked at East High School for four years (go, Leopards!). I loved it there but we decided to move to South Jordan. So, I made one of my hardest decisions to resign at East and be full time mom. When I got to my new community, everyone was new and no one knew how to connect us. I knew a way: theatre. So I asked the community if they would sponsor a community musical, The Wizard of Oz. 100 people participated in it! It was so successful, we created our own community theatre in 2008! Fast forward. Through hard work and a little of being in the right place, we are now in our 15 season in a theatre I designed with my husband bearing the name of Kensington Theatre Company! Each day is a dream and a blessing. I love to say to my theatre comminunty, “Today is a good day; we get to do theatre!”

: Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I believe theatre has the potential to do so much good! I use the mantra from Peter Pan for my theatre: “I am youth, I am joy, I am freedom!” (One of the reasons I named my theatre company Kensington!). I love remembering the child in all of us and letting them play! I believe what I am doing is so worthwhile, I plug into that passion like an electrical current. I hear things like “This literally saved my life”, “I learned to love who I am”, “I found a home here”, etc. all the time. I love what I do and the people I serve through my job as a theatre teacher and through my theatre company. My personal mantra as a teacher/director is to build self-esteem, relieve inhibitions, and develop a love and appreciation for theatre. I LOVE what I do. That would be my advice: have a passion and share it!

Have you ever had to pivot?

I am an optimist. Whenever, life through me an obstacle, I surrounded myself with optimistic people who helped come up with a solution. I remember one of my friends and I would tease “There is a horse somewhere in this crap!”. He moved away to pursue scenic design, but when we opened my theatre I texted him: “I found the horse!” I believed what I did was so worthwhile, I found the energy to keep moving. I still search for that in me, when I am exhausted or another unexpected “bump in the road” comes along. I believe your business attracts who you are. Be positive and ambitious and those that want to be on that journey will join you!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.KensingtonTheatre.org

Image Credits
All by me except directing Les Mis (Kelly Elggren) and directing Hunchback (Rebekah Price)