Exclusive Interview! Meet Pro-Focus Artists MATTHEW AND MEAGHAN SIMPSON from Texas Shakespeare Festival
Texas Shakespeare Festival has offered me a tiny glimpse into the world of Matthew and Meaghan Simpson. Over the last four years, through email exchanges, podcast episodes and a handful of interviews, I've caught only one or two of their exchanges from the corner of my eye, namely while managing the goings-on within the Anne Turks Building. Although, they typically operate as one unit in family and business, it is rare to see them together at the same time when around the building.
I've occasionally wondered what it would be like to sit-in on one of their conversations at dinner. The somewhat nosey side of me, wonders... do their text message strands look similar to mine and my husband's? Perhaps, but probably not exactly. I would imagine they'd look something like this: "Did you text the babysitter about our meeting?" "How much longer will your rehearsal be? Mine starts in 15 minutes!" "Your lunch is in the microwave in my office. Don't forget to grab it!"
The "divide-and-conquer" method that so many of us rely on as working parents must look a little more like a "tag-your-it" with these two as they swap out home and work, with a little bit of "the kids will be joining us" sprinkled on top of rehearsal or production meetings.
Power couple, Matthew and Meaghan Simpson have overseen Texas Shakespeare Festival since the retirement of Raymond Caldwell, who founded TSF in 1986. Together, they are the driving force behind the productions, visiting directors, the acting company and all production members; Meaghan as Artistic Director, Matthew as Associate Artistic Director and Director of Development, with continued support by TSF Veteran and Managing Director John Dodd, who worked closely with Mr. Caldwell for many years and continues to act as a foundational cornerstone to Kilgore College and TSF, specifically.
I remain inspired by their ingenuity, their humor and their humility. As artists and as people, we have so much inspiration provided in their guidance. They touch the lives of every patron and creative individual who walks through the doors of the Anne Turks Building. With their hearts open, they are the first to say, "Welcome home to Kilgore!"
Let's take a moment to get to know Matthew and Meaghan Simpson! For your enjoyment, here is the uncut, unfiltered personal interview!
Happy Reading, Friends!
Natalie
Me: Theatre Companies who operate in a true repertory style are fascinating! Where many theaters are endeavoring to perform one production at a time, you are in the midst of multiple shows rotating at once, on the same stage for a short 5 week run. What are some of the risks and rewards that come with this process?
Meaghan: The biggest challenge about working in rotating rep is the mountain of work we ask our actors, artisans, and technicians to complete in a very short amount of time. We have roughly six weeks to rehearse, build, and tech four shows and then end that process with four consecutive opening nights. This is a feat that is not attempted by very many theaters. The downside is that burnout happens and if we are too ambitious we can aim for something and fail in the attempt. Of course the reward is when we aim for something incredible and succeed. I also have a personal belief that we all get better at what we do when we work on multiple things at once. The ability to work on one show in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening allows you to put something to the side and leave it for a bit. When you return to it, you have a fresh perspective and hopefully can come at things from a new angle.
Matthew: The rewards are many: one of my favorites is that you learn you waste a lot of time in a process thinking about things when you should just be working. We do tons of preparation for the season, months and months of it, but once everyone arrives, there is very little time to sit and think about things. We try things out, trust our intuitions and experience, collaborate, and compromise. It creates a swirl of energy that pushes out the self-consciousness that too much time can make space for. It's also just more fun! It's great to work on a tragedy in the morning, a comedy in the afternoon and a musical in the evening. You don't get sick of any of them, and what you learn in one process tends to feed into the others. The biggest risk is that you'll miss something. There are so many dots to connect; sometimes you get halfway through a process and realize something has completely fallen through the cracks. We try to mitigate this with lots of eyes on various aspects of each show, but it can still happen when you are trying to look at so many different things.
Me: For artists who are interested in applying or working for Texas Shakespeare, what are some of the qualities that you look for?
Meaghan: We are equally interested in the personality, kindness, and work ethic of our artists as we are in their talent. We work too hard to have bad attitudes or toxic negativity. The best way to achieve that is to hire alumni who have worked with TSF and know what to expect. This year's company is roughly 54% alums and that goes a very long way towards our success. When looking for new company members, we take recommendations and common references very seriously. If we know someone that can recommend the applicant personally, that means a lot to us. We also really value getting a company that comes from all over the country, bringing with them diverse training and backgrounds. We have people from New York, California, Minnesota, Florida, and nearly every state in between. This allows us to learn from each other and for each artist to grow and evolve during their time in Kilgore.
Matthew: You have to actually love the work. Working on the plays should be the best part of your day. That's way more important than being the most talented, or the fastest, or the smartest. If you come to your work with joy and gratitude, you will lift up those around you, and the whole team will be better for it. So we look for people who smile, who encourage others, who are problem solvers, and who feel the same way about working on plays that they did when they were kids.
Me: Attending TSF is always the highlight of my year! You and the company go out of your way to welcome and make people feel right at home. That family mentality spreads across the board in every aspect of the TSF experience. To that point, you two are actually married with an adorable family! I have to ask, because we all want to know: What’s it like to work together and raise a family while doing professional Theatre?
Meaghan: Ahhh the million-dollar question. Honestly it can be very hard because sometimes you want to leave work at work and home at home. But the reality is that we are both incredibly passionate about our work AND our family life so they bleed into each space. For the most part, we use the "divide and conquer" method which means that we both take on separate projects that allow one of us to be present and in the theatre most of the time while the other is at home with the kids. In the rare occasion when we get to work side by side on a project-- it's a delight! Matthew and I met in grad school when we were in the thick of learning who we were as artists, and I love to see how he has evolved, particularly as a director. It's a real gift to be able to watch your spouse at work, doing what they love and doing it well. I know many people would struggle to work with their partner (and we certainly butt heads from time to time) but for the most part I leave work with a greater appreciation, understanding, and admiration for Matthew.
Matthew: Honestly, I don't know how a couple could do it otherwise! The time and energy it takes to produce the season is something our whole family appreciates and accepts. Sometimes it can be very stressful, but because we are all in it together and believe in its value, we balance each other out to make it work. If mom needs to go in to deal with an issue, dad covers things at home. If dad's stressed about that evening's rehearsal, mom takes the kids out for a few hours so he can prepare. If we both need to be in the same place for a while, the oldest child helps the babysitter keep things on track at home. We also bring our kids to work when we can and are open with our colleagues about the fact that we are trying to raise a family while producing a season. We strongly believe that being an artist shouldn't mean you can't have a stable family. But for us, that means the whole family needs to be a part of the operation. TSF needs to be our home just as much as our house is.
Me: What surprises did you encounter this year, onstage, off stage or both?
Meaghan: We are still very early in the season, but so far this company seems very happy to be here! I know that shouldn't be a surprise, but I often feel guilty for all the things we can't provide our company. I wish we could pay them more money, give them brand new housing, provide them with state of the art facilities. I suppose it speaks to the warmth of the community, Kilgore College, East Texas and the TSF Guild for welcoming the company in and making them feel safe, comfortable and at home.
Matthew: Hmmmmm, well I don't mean to curse us, but there haven't been too many unpleasant ones.....On the offstage side, we received our largest single donation in the history of the Festival, and from quite an unexpected source! And I think this was our strongest fundraising year we've ever had, which we weren't expecting either. So I suppose the surprise is that people are not only continuing to support TSF, but want to support us even more! I think we have a very promising few decades ahead of us, with some wonderful things we'll be able to provide for our artists and patrons. It's an exciting time to be a part of TSF!
Take part in this Summer's amazing productions at Texas Shakespeare Festival. Visit texasshakespeare.com for full details about their shows this season and ticket purchases!
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