CYT Chicago’s Rockford Director Ellen Mahan was interviewed by rrstar.com this week, for their “Get to Know Me?” section. Here is part of their Q & A session:
What inspires you to do what you do?
My love for the arts, and my love for teaching children.
What is up next for you that readers should know about?
I am directing the musical Narnia. After the run I plan on taking off six months to write a musical. I also want to go back to school.
What do you do for fun?
I love going to the movies, singing with my family and researching words. I am a bit of a word geek. Some of my favorite books are the dictionary, The Synonym Finder and the thesaurus.
Your motto in life:
Whatever you lay your hand to do, do it with all your might or go home.
What do you like best about your job?
As a teacher, it is such a high for me when one of my students has a light bulb moment. As a director, I love that I get the chance to be a small part of taking a not so popular student, an underdog, and watch them become a top dog.
What is something people are surprised to learn about you?
I love the old Horror movies — Dracula, Wolfman, Frankenstein with Bella Lugosi, Lon Chaney. You know, the old ones.
If you could take two weeks off from all your responsibilities, where would you go and what would you do?
The first week, I would spend on a beach somewhere so I could surf, walk, and do absolutely nothing. The second week, I would take my theater geek children to New York and see as many Broadway shows as we could.
Read the rest of Ellen’s interview.
