Schools
MIHS Drama Program Director Campbell Features in 'Jacques Brel' Before Retirement
After 13 years at the helm of several award winning plays and musicals at Mercer Island High School, drama teacher Karen Campbell is retiring at the end of the school year.
After 13 years as the director of the theatre program, Karen Campbell, known affectionately by her students as just “Campbell” is retiring.
Her last production, “J” opens this Thursday, May 5, and runs through Saturday, May 14. The show, an internationally acclaimed musical revue, first opened off Broadway in 1968 and has enjoyed many revivals worldwide in the years since.
Campbell’s last production at MIHS will also include a first: she will perform along side of her students. Also performing is actor and choreographer Terrence Kelley, who has designed the choreography for several recent shows. The show is directed by David Duvall, another long-time collaborator.
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Born to parents who were both singers, Campbell developed her love of drama at the University of Washington. It would turn into a lifelong passion for teaching and directing young people. Since coming to Mercer Island in 1997, she has directed more than 40 different productions and twice won the 5th Avenue High school Musical Theatre award for best director. She has introduced two new programs, drama tech and improv. She has written and adapted a number of scripts, most recently Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor to an old west setting. She has also personally designed and made the costumes for almost every show – often sewing round the clock to complete them.
When asked to recount her favorite memories, there were many: dinner theatres, the annual trip to Ashland each year with her Drama II students, the opportunity for the cast of Arturo Ui to record a professional quality soundtrack. But the best memories, says Campbell, are the kids themselves.
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“I love seeing shy, self-conscious kids blossom into poised, confident individuals who can stand in front of an audience and create theatre magic,” she said, “I also love to see the way kids support each other and celebrate each others’ achievements.”
She plans to spend her retirement years in Ashland, where she’ll “raise chickens, grow a vegetable garden and go to the theatre as often as I can afford it.”
If you’ve never seen a Karen Campbell production, you won’t want to miss this one. If you have, you’ll want to come salute this remarkable woman in her final swan song. There are just six performances, Thursday through Saturday, May 5–7 and May 12–15. Tickets are $10 in advance at Island Books or $15 at the door.