About Mr. Hicks
Here is a little bit about your teacher and/or drama director. I am originally from Richmond, Virginia where I attended Warwick Christian School and Trinity Episcopal School. My first role outside of church was as “Daniel Webster” in The Devil and Daniel Webster during my senior year. At the climactic moment when I was giving my final speech (Daniel is trying to win a man’s soul away from a jury of the dead), the backdrop behind the jury fell down flat. It was quite a shock, but I kept my cool and finished the speech and the play even though the actors playing the jury fell into hysterics. It wasn’t a very auspicious start to my acting career, but I had been bitten by the bug.
Next, I went to James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia where I earned a B.A. in both English and French and a minor degree in Theatre Arts. I did lots of productions and fell in love with Shakespeare after my first show, Henry V in which I played the Duke of Westmoreland, the Duke of Orleans, Court, and random soldiers and messengers. It was a blast! I was hooked. Other college shows I loved were All’s Well That Ends Well, No Frost 17, Fool for Love, Working, The Accidental Death of the Anarchist, and A Friend Indeed. I also did community theatre and loved performing in the chorus of Evita at the Richmond Summer Theatre Festival. I directed plays too. My first was a One Act called “Lone Star.” Then I directed Entertaining Mr. Sloane by Joe Orton. I also did special effects make-up on shows like Red in the Morning. College was great.
During my senior year, I joined the Shenandoah Shakespeare Express, a repertory touring company. I stayed with them for two seasons and played multiple roles in Julius Caesar, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, and Measure for Measure. We toured all over the eastern United States. It was a great experience that taught me more about theatre than I could ever say. I am proud of my time with the SSE which is now known as the American Shakespeare Center and Theatre, a major educational and regional theatre operating in Staunton, Virginia. Thanks, Ralph.
In 1992, I left Harrisonburg for Washington, D.C. where I was the co-director of Act III, a community theatre for young people. I played Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing. I know, “more Shakespeare,” but it wasn’t over. In 1994, I returned to the SSE to assistant direct Much Ado About Nothing and to finish my Master of Arts degree in English. Once that was done, I went back to D.C. again and worked at the Smithsonian Institution and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. It wasn’t theatre, but unlike theatre, it paid the bills.
In 1996, I moved to Miami, Florida where I taught English and Reading at Miami-Dade Community College and found a job translating French educational software and eventually designing video games. I wrote and designed the first five Cabela’s Big Game Hunter games. Hard to believe, I know. I also helped to start the Drama 101 Reading Theatre which performed staged readings around Miami including The Night of the Iguana and Twelfth Night at the Bass Museum and The Lion in Winter, A Lie of the Mind, and A Day in the Death of Joe Egg.
In 2001, I moved to Atlanta and began teaching at Georgia Perimeter College. I came to Kell when the school opened in 2002 and have been here ever since. I love teaching at Kell. The students are great. I get to do two things I love, teach and produce theatre. Since I’ve been at Kell, I have directed over 20 productions. Some favorites have been A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2003), Much Ado About Nothing (2004) [I got to act again - Leonato this time], You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown (2005), Twelfth Night (2006), and The Fox Hunt (2006 – which I also wrote). In the fall of 2006, Kell made a very successful showing of third place at the Region 6AAAAA One Act Play Competition with Dearly Departed. We also earned the Best Ensemble award of which I am very proud. In Spring 2007, we produced the musical The Baker’s Wife. In Spring 2008, I got a second chance to act with my students, playing the Duke in The Two Gentlemen of Verona. That year we also produced our most successful show ever, the musical Pippin. During the 2008-2009 year, we produced The Shadowbox which was one of our most challenging shows.
My favorite writers are Shakespeare (of course), Walt Whitman, Iris Murdoch, E. M. Forster, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Jane Austen, Thomas Hardy, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Tennessee Williams. I love anything about King Arthur or Greek mythology. I’m fascinated by history and love to read historical biographies.
I love music too and have everything on my Ipod from classical to country to dance music (for the gym) and soundtracks. I’m a child of the 80s, so of course I love Madonna, Pat Benatar, Erasure, Kate Bush, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode, and all that stuff. Laugh if you will; our music was better than yours.
My wonderful parents and sisters live in Virginia. I visit them as often as I can. I also have college friends scattered from San Diego to New York City and try to get to see them as much as I can. I enjoy visiting NYC and have recently seen Wicked (twice), Sweeney Todd, The History Boys, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and The Apple Tree on Broadway. Around Atlanta, I like to visit Actor’s Express and Georgia Shakespeare. I love theme parks too. My favorite is Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia home of the Alpengeist, my favorite coaster. I love to travel outside of the country too and have been to Mexico, Canada, England, Luxembourg, France, and Iceland (three times – ask me about it). I’ve recently traveled to New England, Nova Scotia, and Alaska.
If you read all of this, I hope you know a little more about me. I like to get to know my students, so strike up a conversation.
