If superwoman exists, she’s disguised as Beth Wilson. As a busy mother who homeschools two of her four children, works three-days a week as a pediatric nurse at the University of Maryland Hospital, and works part-time as a youth minister, Wilson doesn’t have much free time. But she still manages to volunteer full-time with the Children’s Theatre of Annapolis (CTA).
When her son, Andrew, became involved with CTA, Wilson began working with the organization. Inspired by her son’s passion for theater and own involvement, Wilson has continued to devote her time to the organization and now, six years later, is in her second year as president of the CTA board.
How did you get involved with the Children’s Theatre of Annapolis?
My first memory of Children’s Theatre is when my third child was about four. My mother-in-law said, “Hey, there’s this theater that’s done by kids. Let’s go see a show.” So, we took the three kids to a show. The show was Peter Pan, and my 4-year-old was just completely enamored. He looked at me when we walked out and he said, “I want to do that.”
When [my son] was old enough, he started taking workshops there, and he really enjoyed the experience. So, when he was old enough to audition for the main stage production, he auditioned and, low and behold, he got into the show. The parents were encouraged to volunteer, and that was my first experience working with CTA. It’s hard work, but I love it.
Why do you think the Children’s Theatre is important for the community?
In this day and age, the arts are not as funded as they need to be and the kids that thrive in arts programs are limited in their access to the programs. CTA is a place where the kids are able to thrive in the place that they’re passionate about. It’s a place for them to be accepted and encouraged.
We have kids that are learning how to work lights, work sound equipment, build props and sets, and put costumes together, along with learning how to bring a character and story to life. We have a number of alumni who have gone to college and pursued engineering, IT, or teaching careers. But the skills they learned through their experience at CTA are part of their everyday lives. Putting on a theater production, whether on stage or behind the scenes, is a lot about teamwork and communication and being able to work with different personalities, and those things are life skills.
You’ve been a member of the CTA board for four years, and you are currently serving your second year as board president. Can you tell me about your current role?
I do a little bit of everything. Communication facilitation is probably the biggest thing that I do, and trying to plan for the future of CTA. I brainstorm and plan ways to make CTA better. It really is just trying to help manage the chaos of volunteering, and the business and production aspects of the organization.
On average, how many hours a week do you spend volunteering for CTA?
Oh, I don’t count. It would probably be a little daunting if I actually counted. We are a volunteer organization. Every one of our productions is manned by volunteers. Our CTA families and our community volunteers put in hundreds, if not thousands, of hours. It’s a lot, especially when we’re in the middle of a production, but it’s not that way all the time. Sometimes it’s just a few hours a week of meetings and answering emails. It all depends on where we are in the production cycle.
At one time, the majority of our volunteers were simply just the parents of the kids. Over the past couple of years, we really tried to expand our volunteer pool. Now, we have people that have no connection with the kids that are in the production, but who have skill sets that they just want to share with us. We have people that were previously linked into CTA through their kids, but their kids have aged out, and they’re coming back to help. We have previous board members that come back even when they’re no longer on the board. We also have a good number of kids who are volunteering, but are not specifically linked to a show, which is fabulous.
What do you love most about CTA? What has kept you involved?
One thing that has kept me involved is my kids. They want to be a part of it. That’s where their friends are. It’s become a part of our family cycle. We know that when auditions happen, for the next four months we’re going to be at the theater. It’s become a part of our family lifestyle. My performer loves it still. He loves being at the theater, and whether he’s in a show or not, it doesn’t matter. CTA has become my community. It’s become a part of what I do, a part of my identity, and my ability to give back. I guess, in that respect, my son’s passion became my passion.
I truly believe in the work that we’re doing, that CTA is fulfilling a need and a desire in the community and in my family. I believe that the experiences that the kids have are life-altering and that does, for periods of time, become our bigger family. When you spend that much time with people, you become family. You get to know each other really well and you see each other on good days and not so good days, but for four months, you become an extended family. All of those reasons are why I keep showing up.
