Maintaining outside careers is the norm for CCM faculty. "In the very best schools of performing arts in America," Dean Douglas Lowry says, "the more productive faculty members are active in their profession, nationally and internationally. That component is something we expect our faculty to fulfill and one of the reasons the very best students come to a school like this.

Working in the scene shop is a never-ending job for Steve Waxler, department chair for theater design and production (shown here with drama junior Sarah Stephens).

photo/Lisa Ventre

"We also have high expectations for our scholar faculty to produce scholarship that is relevant at the highest levels in their profession. That requires a tremendous amount of outside time for research, consultation of other colleagues in their profession and writing. "I know people tend to focus on the classroom teaching experience as the only true measurement of how faculty members spend their time, but that is only a small portion of what they actually do."

In the theater design and production area, for instance, faculty generally teach in the mornings, then supervise students in lab settings from 1 to 6 p.m. That's the easy schedule. Adding on production schedules is grueling. "Once we flip into the actual rehearsal week, that's when people can be up till 3 and 4 in the morning," the dean adds. "They don't exist on a normal rehearsal clock. They rehearse and rehearse and rehearse, until they get it right."

Waxler, department chair for theater design and production, has lived with the irregular hours since 1970 and admits that it can be tough. Still, he keeps coming back for more. Why? "Every once in a while, I turn around and ask myself that," he laughs. "I do it for the love of the art and for the love of the students.

"Over the years, I've seen a number of faculty get tired and start looking around. They'll get offers from other schools, but when they look at what we do here, they say they can't leave.

"The level of performance from all the students, the level of talent, the level of production is so high here. I would go crazy if I were at some of the other schools." He tells of a sophomore stage manager who recently came to him saying, "Thank you. Thank you for everything." The student had been working on CCM's production of "The Pajama Game" when he saw the play at another school. "I now understand why we do what we do," he told Waxler.

"That's what gets me up every morning to come in," Waxler says contentedly.

Contentment among faculty is contagious, says law dean Louis Bilionis. "They work hard," he says. "They work all hours. It's just that you don't see them working at home at 11 o'clock on a Saturday.

"Don't pity them, though. They enjoy their work. It's a privilege."

CCM schedules run 9 a.m. - 1 a.m.
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