Photo courtesy of Barbie Brown

Hello! What is your name, your department, and your pronouns? Barbie Brown, they/them, and I work in the theater department. 

What do you like best about Niles North? About working with high schoolers in general? Definitely the people. I love getting to work with such amazing people. And I absolutely love getting to collaborate with such creative minds to make something so much bigger than ourselves. 

Outside of Niles North, what do you like to do? Oh, gosh–I like to spend time with my dog and my cats, and I like to play video games. 

So you have multiple cats, but only one dog? Yup! Two cats and one crazy husky. 

How does that work out? It’s a bit crazy, but it’s all right because they’re all such lovable goofballs. Sometimes the dog annoys the cats, but they tolerate each other. 

How did you get started in stage crew? Did you do it as a kid at your own high school? I started with my after school stage crew program way back in fourth grade, and then I did a little bit of stage crew in middle school. But then I really fell in love with it in high school. And so, a huge reason why I wanted to work here at Niles North is so that I could help other high schoolers fall in love with theater just like I had. 

How did you get started playing in the orchestra when you were younger? When and why did you give it up? I wasn’t very good. I played from fourth grade all through high school. I didn’t practice nearly enough. I still play every now and then, but…definitely did not practice enough to make that a career. 

What instrument was it? Violin. Outside of school, I also played guitar and a little ukulele. 

How long have you been leading crew? Is this the first school you’ve done it at?  This is the first school I’ve led a high school theater department at, and I started last year. 

What was the path to getting this job? I studied technical theater at Bradley University, where I got my bachelor’s degree in theater arts with a production concentration. Then I also did some work outside of the college and did several works at summer theaters, and then I applied for the position here and interviewed with Mr. Minor and Ms. Baskin and Jo, and I got hired. 

What lessons, if any, do you hope people would take from being in crew? Oh, gosh. I think just communication (key.) Have fun and be willing to open your mind and be ready to learn when you want. 

What is your favorite Niles North show that you’ve been a part of? I mean, I’ve had fun on all of ‘em, but I think the last show we did, To Die For, might have a special place in my heart, just ‘cause there were so many crazy things. 

What’s the best TV show or movie you’ve watched recently? Oh, God. That’s tough. I’m gonna go…Crime Scene Kitchen, on Hulu. 

Tell me more.  Basically, there’s two sets of groups. And among them, there’s pairs, and they have two minutes to go into a kitchen and determine what was cooked or baked, and then they have to go bake that thing and see how close they were, and if the thing they made tastes good. 

Who or what – a quote, a person, whatever it may be – inspires you?  Wow, I can’t think of a single quote. I mean, there’s one that’s like, “don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good,” something like that. Which is basically “don’t get so caught up making something perfect that you don’t accept that it’s just good. Because if you go too far, you can miss out, you know, not enjoy the thing, if all you are is looking at the imperfect, because the world’s imperfect. 

If all of the tools you use – drills, power saws, even paint brushes – could talk, which type of tool would you want for a buddy? I think my drill. Because a drill’s just kind of like your right-hand man. Drill or impact driver, because you know, they’re always with you, so either could be a good buddy.

What do you think you’d talk about?  Probably how annoying the wood is sometimes. But I don’t know. Maybe just my life. Stuff, on the job. Building. See what they have to say.