The show must go on for this director and a historic theatrical institution
Photo by Jessica Bobik
All the world’s a stage for J.T. Buck, artistic director for Coach House Theatre’s 90 th anniversary season. Born and raised in the Goosetown neighborhood of Akron, Buck was bitten by the thespian bug in second grade and has scarcely exited the playhouse since. He learned of Coach House’s financial difficulties and possible closure from a newspaper article, as much of Akron’s arts community did, and took swift action to help avert that disaster. “I felt like my artistic grandmother had just passed away,” he says. Currently pursuing a master’s in arts administration at The University of Akron, Buck lives in West Hill and runs The Orchard House, a new residence and event space on S. Maple Street.
What does a theater like Coach House contribute to our community?
JB: We need places, especially small ones, where artists can take risks and audiences
can look up from their screens and connect to real people in real time. Small theaters like Coach House become second families for the people involved.
With ambitions in theater, why stay in Akron? Why not relocate to Chicago or New York?
JB: I go to big cities like New York to learn, but as a writer and director, there’s far more room to breathe here in the Midwest. Affordable, busy, resourceful. You can notice your impact here. And as for real estate? Honey, I came out of the closet 20 years ago. Why go to NYC and pay two grand a month to sleep in one now?
What is your strategy for memorizing lines?
JB: I write them down longhand and recite them while moving—walking, cycling, treadmill. The body remembers more effectively than the brain.
If you were a superhero, what would your super-power be?
JB: All directors secretly want to be invisible. But I’d choose the ability to heal wounds.
What hidden talent or skill do you have?
JB: I’m a better than average cook. Especially the low country cookin’ from my family.
What is something about yourself that would surprise your theater chums?
JB: I spend more time than they might realize in silence.
What is your “guilty pleasure”?
JB: Hanini subs. Also, roller coasters.
Aside from the theater community, what’s your favorite thing about The 330?
JB: Oh my, the food! Also the scale. This town is built for humans.
Where is your dream vacation spot?
JB: London: Shakespeare’s Globe, Wilde’s grave, Abbey Road, the Tate Modern, and my favorite living Queen—other than RuPaul.
What languages do you speak?
JB: English and enough Spanish and French to not get lost. I also consider music a language; I’ve been speaking that passably since age 8.
What was your least favorite undergrad class and why?
JB: Everything math. Math was traumatic for me in high school. I’m fine with it now, but it took years to heal the wounds.
Early Brando or late Brando?
JB: Early Brando. And not just because of the looks. Brando before he got in his own way.
Fat Elvis or skinny Elvis?
JB: Check the YouTube video of Elvis doing “Unchained Melody” a few weeks before he passed. Then cancel your appointments for the rest of the day.
Marx Brothers or Three Stooges?
JB: Too few people stop to realize what it took to be Harpo.
What are your dreams or goals for 10 years from now?
JB: I want to feel even more sane and open-hearted 10 years from now and live in a community that evolves likewise. If the arts are my vehicle for getting there, that would be great, but I don’t spend a lot of time looking far ahead or back. The action is right here and now. Make the most of the present, and the future tends to work itself out.
