Step 1: Don’t Wait for Permission

Welcome to the first post in my series “Building a Theatre Program from Scratch.”

When I first started, I was mainly an EFL teacher in Taiwan. Today, I lead a full-fledged theatre department putting on around nine shows a year. How did it happen? It all started with the first—and maybe the most important—step: Don’t wait for permission.

I had been toying with the idea of starting a theatre department since I joined my first full school in Taiwan more than ten years ago. Even during my interview, I mentioned wanting to create an afterschool drama club for the elementary ESL students. It sounded promising.

Fast forward two years. I was sitting in my classroom on Wednesday afternoons—the designated club time—watching twenty students play Minecraft on tablets. The school’s afterschool club program paid teachers based on enrollment. I had been advised by other teachers and administrators to run something easy and high-volume. Minecraft fit the niche perfectly. I'd assign a mission like “build a roller coaster,” show a few YouTube tutorials, and then mostly supervise while students worked. It was hands-off and high-paying—around 100 USD for three hours of work.

But it wasn’t fulfilling.

The next semester, I approached the admin team and told them I wanted to switch to a drama club. “Why?” one administrator asked, genuinely baffled. “You’re going to lose so much money!” “I want to challenge myself. I want to follow my passion,” I answered.
He shook his head and said, “If that’s what you want.”

I went from 20 students to 7. From $100 to $30 for the same three hours. And I didn’t regret it for a second. Those Wednesday drama club sessions became the highlight of my week. We played games, learned about performance, and eventually produced a short skit for a school recruitment event. The students had all levels of English ability, but that didn't matter. We had fun, we grew, and most importantly—we started something.

Students rehearse for our school recruitment event using a script I prepared for the occasion. The beginning of my interest in playwriting.

Fast forward another two years. I was now at my current school. Again, I brought up my dream: not just a club, but a full-fledged theatre program. I got nods. Smiles. Polite acknowledgments. But no real movement. After my first year, I realized if I waited for someone else to make it happen, it never would. So I decided to take action myself.

I patiently but persistently approached administration about three things: Starting an elementary afterschool drama club Launching a high school theatre elective Joining the International Thespian Society. Once I got a basic “okay,” I didn’t wait around. I made posters advertising the elementary club. I promoted the elective course to high school students. I explained the value of the International Thespian Society to anyone who would listen. (And yes—I paid the initial troupe registration fee out of my own pocket.)

The next school year? Both the elementary club and the high school elective opened. Our Thespian Troupe was officially recognized. Momentum had begun.

High School students rehearsing from that first ever theatre elective.

*So What?

If you want to start something—whether it’s a marching band, an athletics program, or a theatre department—you can’t sit back and wait for administration to hand you an opportunity. You have to be the spark.

You need to persistently, patiently, and positively push your idea forward. Talk to stakeholders: students, teachers, parents. Get them excited about your vision. Then, keep following up with administration. If you do most of the legwork (something theatre people are great at), your leaders will often be more inclined to say yes. You’re making it easy for them to approve because you’ve already shown the initiative.

I’ve personally found that asking for forgiveness is often better than waiting for permission. If you wait for someone else to greenlight your idea, you’ll be waiting forever. Start building anyway.

* Note: This "So What" reflection format is inspired by former Nintendo of America CEO Reggie Fils-Aimé's memoir, Disrupting the Game: From the Bronx to the Top of Nintendo, where each chapter ends with a key takeaway for readers. I loved that idea and wanted to bring it into this series.

Next Time

I’ll share the first steps I took to get things moving—and what I learned from our very first public performance.

Remember:
No theatre program ever started by waiting around. it started because someone believed it could happen.
Why not you?
See you in the next post!