Though it may be hard for some to believe, teachers do have lives outside of school. Students aren’t the only ones who have extracurricular activities, interests or hobbies, teachers do too. One MHS faculty member moonlights as an actor in his spare time.
Justin Spurgeon, World History teacher, started acting his sophomore year in high school.
“It’s something I’ve been doing for the last fifteen, sixteen years now,” Spurgeon said.
Nowadays, when he’s not busy with school, Spurgeon shows off his acting chops with Act Two, a community theater company. Their latest production is Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, a musical about one man’s quest for revenge against those who wronged him.
It will be the 43rd production that Spurgeon has ever done.
In the show, Spurgeon will get to indulge his dark side with the role of Beadle Bamford, a menacing and malevolent character.
“It’s fun to be bad sometimes,” Spurgeon said. “Especially because it’s not my personality.”
For Spurgeon, his beloved pastime has opened up the doorway to the formation of many new friendships within the company. He also said that acting has proved very fulfilling in that with each production, he is presented with a new challenge.
“The challenges are definitely one of my favorite things about acting,” Spurgeon said. “You’re always playing somebody different.”
The show will be October 26, 27 & 28 and November 2, 3 & 4 at the St. Peters Cultural Arts Centre at City Hall in St. Peters, MO. Tickets are $16 for students and $20 for adults.
