The fine arts department is taking on a fresh start. New theatre director, Heather Creech, and choir director, Stephanie Teague, are the most recent additions to high school fine arts.
Creech was the former theatre director at Kingwood High School. She lived in Beaumont all her life and graduated from Lamar University.
“My senior year I went to Lake Travis High School,” Creech said. “My director Mrs. Molina made an impression on me. Up until that point I was in band, and I was an All-State clarinet player. I liked theatre more.”
Her love of theatre inspired her to venture more into the arts. She became the assistant director of Little Shop of Horrors, which inspired her to direct other shows.
“Musical theatre was my first love,” Creech said. “My grandma would always get us season passes.”
Teague taught choir at Little Cypress Junior High before transferring over to the high school. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in music education and moved to Texas from Wyoming. During her first years of teaching, she taught K-5, then when the choir position opened at the junior high, she applied and got hired.
“I didn’t plan on being a choir director,” Teague said. “I majored on two separate instruments, so I always thought I was going to teach band.”
She wanted to come teach at the high school because she wanted her students to be able to understand and enjoy learning about music.
“I want them to feel successful in whatever capacity that might be, for some it’s the All-Region process and All-State process,” Teague said. “For some it’s just getting up on stage for a concert and not fainting. So whatever success looks like, I want my students to feel successful.”
She plans on working with all the fine arts directors as a team and connecting with everyone in the program.
Creech wants her students to leave her class and be able to come away with a solid foundation for a little bit of everything in theatre, hopefully connect with tech or acting, and have a great experience. She plans to work on the school musical next year and work collaboratively with the band, choir, and Honey Bears. She feels that each program holds so much talent and that it would be a very rewarding experience for them.
She is excited to utilize all the creative potential that the theatre department has to offer.
“I am looking forward to growing the theatre department, creating new traditions, recognizing the seniors, and I’m really looking forward to showing the surrounding districts what the Bear Stage Players are capable of,” Creech said. “In the words of Walt Disney, ‘It’s kinda fun to do the impossible.'”
She has enjoyed the transition from junior high to high school. She thinks the transition has been smooth and knows that most students already know who she is. She said that the major differences are that the choir students are dedicated and want to be in there.
“I’m excited to be here and work with a higher level of choral literature and push these kids to see how talented they really are,” Teague said.
Both directors are proud to be at LCM and are excited to see what this school year holds.
“I have a renewed passion,” Creech said. “I’m feeding off the excitement of the students and it feels good. I’ve missed that. Joy is contagious and I’m loving the joy that fills this entire school. I can’t wait to come to work every day. Go Battlin’ Bears!”
