Every high school student has their "thing," whether it be football player, section leader, class clown, or theater kid. We all had something even if It seemed like nothing to everyone on the outside. I did a variety of things in high school but I was the most dedicated to theater, and as a result my director played a huge role in how I experienced high school and continue to experience life today. He taught me so many things that I can't even begin to thank him for, but I'll start of with 10 things that all us theater kids should thank our high school director for:

1. Providing a safe place for you to grow

Your director provided a safe place to grow not only as a performer but as a person. People commonly speculate that actors love acting because it gives them a chance to be someone else. Often this is true, but in the same respect, your directer created an environment that allowed their students to discover who they were as people and their strong suits as performers.

2. Teaching you that taking a risk pays off

Your director encouraged you to escape your comfort zone. That can be a difficult thing to ask, especially for a high school student, or human being in general. But, when you mustered up the courage to do it, the rewards and the lessons learned from taking that risk made all the fear worth it in the end. No matter what, a risk taken in theater class was a success because you learned something from it and had the opportunity to become a better performer for it, and the same thing applies off the stage to this day.

3. Teaching you to laugh at yourself

When the risks you'd taken didn't turn out as planned or when you tripped over your own feet during a show, your directer laughed, and, even if you didn't feel like laughing about, it you started laughing anyway. Eventually, you developed the understanding that it's okay to mess up and if you're really upset about it, the best thing you can do is find the humor in the situation and do better next time. Your director knew that if they didn't teach you that some mistakes could be funny, you'd never be willing to put yourself in a position to make them in the first place.

4. Seeing your talent

Sometimes it only takes one person to tell you that they see potential in you for you to believe in yourself. Your director was definitely that person. Your director may not have been the first or the last person to see your talent, but their opinion meant a lot to you. Even now, you might still look back on a compliment they gave you about a scene you did really well or how they knew you had the talent for a certain part, and that got you through your moments of doubt.

5. Giving you constructive criticism

Being able to accept criticism as a way to improve instead of as a personal attack is crucial to becoming the best version of yourself. Although your director was supportive, they also knew when to be honest with you. They knew that you would come into contact with people who would hurt your feelings and tell you things you didn't want to hear regardless of if you would pursue a career in the arts or not. I remember being so sure that I sounded terrible in my first major solo performance, but all my friends assured me that I did a great job. When I went to my director he knew and cared enough to know that that wasn't what I needed. He reminded me that I was talented and that's why I had the part, but also confirmed that I was right and that I didn't sound my best. His being honest with me allowed me to learn from my mistakes so I could do better for my next performance.

6. Making you a theater snob

You cannot go to a show without picking apart the set, the lights, the lead, and, if your director was really good, the ensemble as well. This is both a blessing and a curse, but you wouldn't trade it for the world because it represents all you learned about theatre and how to do it well. Being a snob means having a higher standard, so it can be hard to find performances you genuinely enjoy. However, when you do enjoy a show it means a lot more than now than it ever used to in the past. Being a theater snob also taught you how to appreciate and see talent. Yes, your director made you into a theater snob, but that only means that they taught you how to give well informed critiques as well as compliments.

7. Acknowledging the reality of a high school student's everyday struggles

High school was a time for many of us to feel like we were surrounded by adults that either ignored the issues we were facing or belittled them to the point that our experiences didn't seem valid. For a theater student, the emotions felt could incredibly useful to put toward an amazing performance and your directer knew that. They never made you feel like what you were going through didn't matter or didn't exist. In fact, they may have been the only adult willing to talk about the heavier issues that we were experiencing while others preferred to be blissfully ignorant. Even though theatre can be light and fluffy, it also creates art out of some of the darkest human emotions. So, naturally, your director wouldn't be one to shy away from the experiences of their students.

8. Learning with you

Even though your director probably had years of experience, they never made your opinion feel as if it wasn't heard. When practicing for an upcoming performance they would even ask for opinions about what would make the show the best it could be. They would give your suggestions a try and if they didn't work then the moment made for a great teaching tool. If it did, your own suggestion would be used for the show. Yes, you always knew you had a lot to learn from them, but they also made sure you knew that you were just as much of an artist as they were, and they treated you as such.

9. Trusting you to represent them

In high school you most likely didn't have adults depending on you for much. You may have been told that you were unreliable or made to feel like you were perceived that way. Your director was at least one adult that put their trust in you every time you did a performance because how you carried yourself on the stage was a reflection of their skills as an educator. You trusted them enough to learn from them and to spend countless hours in rehearsal for them, but they trusted you with their name.

10. Being more than just a director

Your director was your teacher, both an ally and an advocate, and even a mentor. They were the head of your theater family. In some ways you looked up to them like a parent and they may have even known you better than your own parents. They pushed you to be the best you could be and to jump into what made you feel uncomfortable with both feet. At the same time, they succeeded in making that discomfort feel like a home away from home. They nurtured your love for theater so that you would be able to have it with you to get you through the challenges of life no matter what you chose to do in the future. Your director was so much more than anyone on the outside could ever begin to imagine.