Noah Krepps A Labor Of Love
story by NATHAN LIVESAY photos by PAUL NURNBERG
Noah Krepps loves everything about directing a show with one exception… the cast photo. “It is just insanely difficult for me, for some reason it flusters me and I end up having to enlist moms to stand behind me and say move that kid there and that kid there. Everything has come together, we are ready for the show and now I have to make one more humongous choice.”
Noah came by his love of theatre as a child watching his siblings perform and his mother as a costume designer. His favorite show is still Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, a show he watched as a ten year old because his mother designed the costumes and his 14 year old brother was the actor playing Joseph. After several middle school performances in Bye,Bye, Birdie and Hello Dolly, he stepped away from the stage to become a different type of performer during high school and college. He was a competitive swimmer, played the cello in the school orchestra, performed as a member of the chorus and earned a spot as a bass for the performance choir during high school. These activities conflicted with being a part of his high school drama program, but they didn’t stop him from performing on other stages. He continued to perform musically during college and beyond as a member of the choral departments at Temple and Indiana University-Pennsylvania. During that time he was also part of a punk band that toured the country twice.
Drawn to Beaufort during the summer of 2015 when his fiancé found a job here, Noah tried out acting again. He was casted and since has performed with the Center for the Arts in Godspell, 9 to 5, a couple of broadway reviews and was stage manager for the recent performance of Mamma Mia. This led to a connection with Bonnie Hargrove and when she was looking for a director for the next children’s production, he was interested. “She was very encouraging and offerred great support,” he said. He’s directed 4 shows, Shrek Jr, Willy Wonka Jr., Madagascar Jr. and is looking forward to directing again this spring when the Children’s Theatre performs The Wizard of Oz, a show that again holds special meaning for him because he watched his sisters perform and his mother design costumes for that show too.
Theatre is a creative outlet for Noah. He was married this April and recently started a job in Community Development for Beaufort County. He previously worked as a special education assistant at Beaufort Middle School. He also still finds time to sing, he is member of the choir at First Presbyterian Church.
“There is so much love at the Children’s Theatre. It is amazing to see the growth in the performers. Every show is someone’s last before they go off to college, so it’s nice to see them come into their own. And every show is someone’s first, I love their energy and enthusiasm. We often have the same performers over and over, so it is fun to watch them develop from year to year,” he says.
Noah is quick to point out that even though he is called the director, each show is a huge production and requires a ton of help. “It is a team effort. I’ve been lucky to work with an amazing team. Producers, choreographer, music director, set designers, stage managers and parent volunteers. As a director, ideally I’ll be working on the acting, blocking the scenes, the stage picture and giving direction to individual actors, but it varies from show to show. For Madagascar Jr., I served as music director as well as director. I wasn’t sure I could do both, but my producer, Bonnie Hargrove, is always around and she steps in whenever I need her. She’s truly been a mentor to me, she’s done so much to make me confident in this role. I wouldn’t have become as successful of a director without her.”
Noah also noted that his first choreographer, Chris Crabb, “was very supportive of me. He helped me ease into being a director because I had no experience. I have had a ton of guidance to get to the point I am now.”
When asked what he’s looking forward to as The Wizard of Oz approaches, Noah considered the question for a moment before responding. “My favorite part of being a director is working with the experienced kids on one final show before they move on and the excitement that the new kids bring to their first show. It is also fun to watch the kids who are in middle school and are starting to come into their own. That show when they click, their hard work starts to come together and they become that force on stage. There are so many kids who are 10, 11, 12 and as they get older and more experienced, they really start to flourish. It’s fun to see them take off in a new way and gain that confidence.”
Noah explained the process of putting a show together. Well over a 100 aspiring performers show up for two days of auditions. Each show typically ends up with a cast of approximately 85 kids with 4 to 5 principal acting roles. The kids range in ages from elementary school to high school. Following auditions Noah and the producer, music director and choreographers meet to discuss and assign roles. After a night of lively conversation they reach a consensus and then it is off to work. During the initial fews weeks they practice 3 times a week before ramping up to 4 times a week. The final week is tech week. The actors and crew meet daily in the theatre at the University of South Carolina, Center for Performing Arts. Noah says he’s at the theatre about 9 hours a week at first, but that gradually increases to about 35 hours the week of the performance. That doesn’t include the hours and hours weekly he spends preparing for the time at the theatre.
Over and over Noah humbly deflected any credit directed to him emphasizing the number of people who invest so much time into making the shows happen. “Director is just a title for me. There are so many people doing as much or more work than I am. Between parents who are leaving their jobs early every afternoon, to the ones who are volunteering their time to create costumes and measuring every single child up and down and sideway. There are just so many moving parts. I am just so thankful for the help.”
Why does he do it? It’s clear that Noah loves the theatre and loves working with children.
“Its a labor of love. People ask if it’s paid or volunteer, but that’s not even a thought when I am there. I’m there for the love of it and to watch the children grow their confidence on the stage. It’s kind of amazing to watch a younger teenager have that natural ‘maybe I should try the scene this way’ without being encouraged. Watching young children, their excitement being on stage for the first time and seeing it come together for them. The camaraderie they have by the end is unreal. Seeing all those kids have a place to go and be at home.”
