What does Shrek do from 9-5? Did you know Pippin also bakes a mean pie? With this series I aim to answer those questions and more as I peek behind the curtain and learn all about our participants’ experience with AWT and take a glimpse into their robust lives outside of theater. It’s time for AWTea with Mary!

In this edition, we get the AWTea from Cam Lieberson!

MARY: Welcome Once again to AWTea with Mary! In today’s installment we are talking with Cam (they/them) a long time member of AWT who recently celebrated their 10th anniversary with us! Let’s start from the beginning and tell me about your life/ your background/ yourself.   

CAM: I grew up going to public school in suburban/rural Pennsylvania. As soon as I graduated high school, I was ready to make the big move to NYC for college. I attended NYU for Theater Education. After I graduated, I was immediately pressured by the industry to get a masters degree right away, but, unsurprisingly, I wasn’t ready at 22 years old to commit to a higher degree and likely a life-long career. So I dodged the pushy school administrators as long as I could until I had settled on an MSED degree in Early Childhood Education and Arts Integration from Bank Street College. I sometimes think about going back to school for a degree in child behavioral psychology, but I’m just really tired and don’t see it happening any time soon…

M: Good for you for resisting the pressure! At least for a little while! Where did all that education take you?

C: Even though my undergrad degree was in Theater Education, my first job was as an assistant teacher in a general education elementary school classroom. Meaning I supported the head teacher in the general subjects like math, social studies, reading and writing. After two years of that, I was called to the theater classroom, and I took a job as the theater teacher at an NYC public school. It didn’t go well haha. I saw 780+ students a week and none of the school leadership understood or supported arts education. It was really really tough! The kids were actually so amazing–many teachers will tell you it’s the adults (administrators, parents, other teachers/providers) that make teaching challenging, not the children, and that was definitely my experience. 

After that hard year, I hustled for a year as a teaching artist– I worked for five different arts education organizations that placed me into public, private, and charter schools as a theater or dance teacher for in-school and after-school programming. THIS was my favorite job I’ve ever had! Everyone at the schools was always so happy to see me because I provided a joyful break for them and the kids, and my supervisors were all arts ed people, so they truly understood and valued my work. I also got to see so many parts of the city I wouldn’t have otherwise been to. The traveling was a bit tiring, but I loved it anyway. The tricky thing with this position was that the pay was low and irregular, and it was pretty hard to make ends meet!

I got an urgent call at the end of the following summer with an offer from a previous employer to be a full-time head teacher at one of their preschool locations. I had hardly taught any preschool, but they were in dire need of a teacher they trusted, and I was wanting steadier, more reliable work, so I accepted the job. I continued some of my theater teaching gigs for the first year, and then I shifted to full-time preschool teaching. I taught preschool for 4 years in private school after that, which I absolutely loved, once I figured out what I was doing. Working on my masters at the same time was very much like putting the plane together as it was in flight, but I made it work!

My final year of teaching, I took a position in a 3K public school ICT classroom. ICT means there are some children in the class with IEPs (individualized education plans), meaning they are considered as having special needs, and some children without IEPs, who are considered general education. The children in this group were very high-needs, and myself and my co-teacher, who had a specialization in special education, were not equipped to support the group–needless to say it was a really tough year. We loved all of the kids so much, but we lacked the expertise to provide a positive experience for them. The lack of support we received from the administration made me deeply sad and disillusioned about teaching. I was struggling to maintain my mental and physical health, while being told we weren’t doing enough. When you’re a teacher, it often feels like you are operating above your capacity and it’s still never enough.

I spent the summer after that school year applying to jobs outside of schools–in ed tech and ed consultancy, but I was underqualified for positions that would pay for the apartment I had at the time (capitalism, right?). By the time August rolled around, I had resigned that I’d likely have to teach again, and I started looking for new teaching jobs. While at Riis Beach with some friends (shoutout Riis!), a new acquaintance said they had connections with some small, progressive Brooklyn preschools that would likely be a better fit, philosophically, than my previous role, so I sent her my resume to post in their group. I received many calls about teaching, but I received one very exciting call– a Brooklyn preschool in Cobble Hill was in search of a new director, and they reached out to interview me! I didn’t really feel qualified, since I hadn’t performed several parts of the role before, particularly around school finances and admissions, but they were in a bind (we love being a panic hire!), and I was dying to get out of the classroom. So I took it! This fall I’ll be starting my third year as Preschool Director at my school. (HMU if you know anyone in Cobble Hill looking for a great school!)

My favorite part of my job is observing children’s behavior and collaborating with teachers to best support the kids and their families. I also love being able to eat snacks and go to the bathroom whenever I need to, which is so different from teaching!

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a marine biologist! I loved science in school, but I had a terrible biology teacher in high school, and I felt like it wasn’t the path for me anymore. It’s so sad looking back on this as an educator, because I know how much a teacher can affect their students in all of their interactions. However, I also caught the theater bug around that same time, so it was only a matter of time until my career goals shifted.

M: WOW! What a career! I’m so glad that you’ve found something that suits you now! But as we all know the journey is never really over! But I wish you nothing but the best in all your current and future endeavors. 🙂  Ok, so where along this journey did AWT come into your life? 

C: So I actually heard about AWT (Well, Afterwork Theater Project at the time) in a pretty unconventional way– I was looking for arts education jobs on Playbill.com, and they were advertising for the MD position for Legally Blonde. Obviously I wasn’t qualified for the job, but when I read the description for a community theater in NYC, I went right to the website to check it out. I had just missed Launch Day, but they hadn’t released cast lists yet, so I sent in a video and got my first ever role as the “Mousy Customer.” You know– “Excuse me, can you teach me that? I’m tired of living alone with my cats.”  However, one week before we opened, the person playing “Kate” dropped out, and they asked me to take over for her. This was before the days of cast twins for everyone– only a few of the leads were double cast, so everyone in the ensemble got to do all of the shows. Legally Blonde was absolutely one of my all-time favorites!! It was such a joyful and relaxed experience. The cast was small, so everyone knew everyone and each part was extremely active. And the rest is history!

M: I love when I hear about people just “reaching out last minute, just in case”. My anxiety could never, but it almost always seems to work out! Which is just a testament to the true chillness of the AWT mission. So tell me about that history at AWT! What moments stand out to you?

C: After Legally Blonde, I was one of the “Nicest Kids in Town” in Hairspray, an “Angel” in Anything Goes, and “Morgan” (the person who sings “Turn Back O Man”) in Godspell. After that, I took a little bit of a break to work on my masters and do a bit of a career change within teaching, so I missed a lot of really great shows in there! But there was just no way to swing it with my teaching and school schedules. I joined back in for Cabaret in 2018 after I graduated, and I was back in full swing for one of my favorites– Newsies! 

Newsies was special to me for so many reasons. First of all, it was my first ever lead in an AWT show and the first time I had to actually learn lines since college, which was a little stressful. I also loved all of the dancing (s/o Leon and Kailey for that choreo!), and it was also a role that really spoke to my gender feelings.

Newsies was also special because we went through a lot together– we were about to enter tech week when we were shut down for the pandemic, so there was a ton of excitement and joy when we came back together to perform in fall of 2021. It was the first time many of us got together in a group to do art again, and I really needed that chance to express myself and bond with my theater buddies. Coming back in 2021 was also when I shared that I was using a new name and pronouns and identifying as nonbinary, and AWT was one of the first spaces that I felt comfortable sharing that major life update. Folks in the cast were really supportive when I announced this change to the group on re-launch day. For those reasons, Newsies will always be really special. After that, I did three Dance Outs in a row, my favorite being Love and War, because I just love a small cast!! Rounding out my list of AWT shows, I was a tapper, and of course DEKKER, in Something Rotten, and I just performed in my first ever Sing Out with Sing Out: AWT Throwbacks. Since the pandemic hit, one thing that has really changed for me is that I am participating in AWT simply to have fun. I’ve stopped really caring about much other than having fun and being silly. AWT has really become my outlet for joy and expressing myself, so that’s what I seek out in each show that I do!

I’m not participating in any programs right now, but we just had our class showcase for “Come On Get Tappy,” which was the beginner tap series I taught this summer. Being on the CT side of a class was such a new experience! I learned a lot about being a leader in AWT, even if it was just a small peek compared to what it’s like to be a CT member for a show. The class was such a joy to be a part of; my goal was to create the kind of space I seek out at AWT– a place that feels relaxed and truly just for fun. Coming into the class, I was really just honored that everyone trusted me to lead them on their dance journeys. Learning a new skill as an adult is a really vulnerable thing to do, so I was honestly so impressed at how hard everyone tried and how open they were about asking questions. It was also a creative outlet for me–feeling what songs inspired me and getting creative with the choreo. Plus we got to dance to some really fun and varied music from my “Broadway Jams” playlist. I would love to dance with you all again soon!

M: I’m so sorry I missed out on your class! Looked like a lot of fun! Was your theater experience before AWT also just as expansive? 

C: Growing up I did a lot of community theater! Just like with AWT, it was always my happy place with all of my closest friends. My community theater favorites were tapping in Crazy For You and Thoroughly Modern Millie and dancing in the ensembles of Oklahoma! and Seussical. All of my leading roles were (unsurprisingly) comedy/character roles, like “Miss Hannigan” in Annie and “The Cowardly Lion” in The Wizard of Oz. When I was 15, I started performing at our regional professional theater, and that was really an incredible opportunity! It was a lot of pressure to work as a professional, but it taught me about hard work, leadership, and supporting my castmates. It was pretty serious but also so much fun! I did a ton of shows there, but my favorites were 42nd Street, Grease, Bye Bye Birdie, The Music Man, and Li’l Abner. I also did over 60 performances of High School Musical– we did it two seasons in a row at three different theaters. Needless to say that’s why I skipped it at AWT 😂 

M: Ah! My first show! But I totally get that, once is probably enough. 🙂 I feel like theater people are just naturally drawn to New York. Was that also the case for you? 

C: I grew up in rural/suburban Pennsylvania, but I always knew I was meant to be in New York. Since I moved here for school, I haven’t left, but I’ve moved around a few times within the city. 

M: Such is the case for so many folks I fear! Tell me about your journey!

C: My first apartment was a tiny railroad-style walk-up apartment in SoHo, which was a big yikes. After that, I moved to Hell’s Kitchen for a couple of years, which was so convenient but also…midtown. At that time, I was also more than ready to live without a roommate, so I moved to a studio with zero natural light, a tiny kitchen, and a pest problem in Harlem. I immediately loved living alone so much that I stayed there for five years, until I could afford to live alone somewhere a little more comfortable. Almost three years ago exactly I moved to my current apartment in PLG/Flatbush. I love it so much! I finally have some space and big windows with lots of plants and a kitchen where I can actually cook. 

M: So happy for you! What are some of your favorite spots? 

C: My apartment is only about a 6 minute walk to Prospect Park, so it’s easy to pick a favorite neighborhood spot 🙂Specifically, I love the waterfall nestled behind the lake near the boathouse. My favorite spot in the city overall is definitely Rockaway Beach.

M: Dreamy! So tell me a little bit more about what you enjoy outside of theater! I know this can be a difficult question! lol

C: I mean AWT is my main hobby– my job is pretty exhausting, so when I’m doing a show, I don’t have much time or energy for anything else. When I do have time and energy for other things, I sometimes take dance classes, although I feel like a lot of dance classes in NYC can be a little judgey/exclusive! I also love to cook; honestly I would cook myself three meals a day if I didn’t have anything else I needed to do, but often the thought of all of the dishes related to cooking dampens my excitement. I also play ukulele, I’d say around an intermediate level– I have about 35 songs in my practice rotation and have been thinking about hosting a ukulele karaoke night haha! I also play American Mahjong and have been wanting to find a group to play with if anyone plays! Now that I have a kindle, I read a ton; I’m pretty obsessed with it, and I love to see movies at Alamo. I’m a dedicated plant parent, so I would welcome any advice from more seasoned plant caregivers. I love to be near bodies of water, especially in the summer, and out in nature, and I’ve recently begun exploring the National Parks, my favorite so far being Bryce Canyon! I also live around the corner from the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, so I like to go a couple times a year to see the flowers, especially the peonies and the roses. Can I hug your dog?

M: If I had a dog, absolutely!

C: Oh, and, of course, I love Bravo. Dying to know more? Here are my rapid-fire Bravo thoughts: Regardless of the fact that they’ve both had not-great recent seasons, my favorite housewives franchises overall are New Jersey and Potomac, and I love OC as well. Favorite individual housewives are Candiace Dillard Bassett, Heather Dubrow, Shannon Beador, Kandi Burress, Dolores Catania, and is it too soon to add Jenna Lyons? I love a housewife who doesn’t need it. My favorite non-housewives show is Summer House because SUMMER SHOULD BE FUN. My hot takes are that Miami is not that good, Erika Jayne was correct to not apologize during her lawsuit, and Tamra should not have made a comeback. We didn’t need her, and she is just cruel! 

M: I am just going to BLINDLY AGREE with everything you just said. I’m sure you are 100% correct and perfect in your opinions. 🙂  Now, finally I just like to leave it open to anything else you’d like to share or that you’d like people in the community to know!

C: A conversation I recently had with some AWT friends was about correcting folks when they misgender me. It really bothers me when someone misgenders me and no one corrects them! It happens to me a lot, but I would love it if AWT could be a space where community members correct each other. And also if you’re corrected to not make a big deal about it– just correct yourself and move on! It’s a bigger deal to me that no one notices/corrects each other than the mistake itself. Also, I always notice I just pretend not to because people tend to make a big deal about it to me when I say something, which just isn’t worth the emotional energy. If you’ve been correcting people privately, I have no way of knowing that, so it means that I don’t know if you are noticing and ignoring it or not noticing at all, and either way, it hurts my feelings! Thank you! <3

M: Thank you so much for sharing that! Something we can all use the reminder about, I’m sure! 

 

Ok, time for RAPID FIRE!

• What is something you’ve done recently for the first time?
  Taught an adult tap class! So fun and rewarding!
• What makes you happiest right now?
  Honestly watching people win medals at the olympics– they look so happy! Also being spontaneous over the summer. It’s so nice to have some time off and not be physically and emotionally drained all the time like I am during the school year.
• What superpower would you want if you could have any super power?
  Absolutely teleporting. I would love not to commute anywhere and visit friends in all different parts of the city and to be able to stop home any time I want. Also I would use it to travel the world on a budget!
• What’s your favorite stage show and/or dream role?
  Ohh my most recent favorite was Here Lies Love– such incredible talent and storytelling as well as a fascinating comment on human psychology and how people can be manipulated into believing in the wrong people. Also the tech was stunning– I love a show that does something really different and interesting and it pays off. I also LOVED …Great Comet, which I also felt was so unique and riveting. Other favorites were the revivals of Once On This Island and Spring Awakening and of course SpongeBob SquarePants –I feel like it really spoke to my nostalgia of being a SpongeBob fan as a kid, and the tech was incredible! I mean they had a foley artist– how cool! I’m also obsessed with Alex Brightman right now and love everything he does.My dream roles have really shifted a lot as my understanding of my gender has shifted. I’m most excited about parts that are genderless or easily fluid. People have heard me talk a lot about wanting AWT to put on SpongeBob, and, while it’s an amazing choice for AWT for so many reasons (@staff we can talk if you want lol), I also feel like every single role in that show can be played by any person of any gender, and that is appealing to me. I don’t like auditioning for a show where I can’t see where I fit or I want to avoid certain roles. The shows I’m most excited about are the ones where I can see myself in any part. Genderless sea creature? I’m in. Otherwise, I’m most interested in roles written for men where their gender isn’t that important–something like Pippin (from Pippin) or Joseph (from Joseph…Dreamcoat) are great examples! Also playing younger characters is appealing because gender is so much more fluid for kids/teens. So something like Melchior in Spring Awakening or Gabe in Next to Normal would be exciting for me. I’m generally the least interested in more traditional or old school musicals, as they feel the least fluid and open for me or shows that focus on gender as a part of the storytelling. Oh I would also like for & Juliet to close on Broadway because I would love to dance in that!
• What’s your favorite food?
  I love anything with pasta/noodles! A good vodka sauce is everything. There’s an incredible dim sum place in Koreatown that my friend and I are obsessed with (shoutout Brenna–she is my #1 AWT supporter), and I love a perfectly cooked steak.
• What’s your favorite karaoke song?
  Probably something that ROCKS like “30/90” or anything we can all sing together
• What’s your favorite dinosaur?
  None, they’re all scary.
• What’s your favorite way to spend a Sunday? (when there is no rehearsal 🙂
  Sleep until I wake up naturally, read in bed, catch up on Bravo, cook a bit, see a show or a movie with a friend and get something really yummy for dinner. Plus ice cream or gelato. Froyo stopped being fun when they stopped letting us do our own toppings.
• What’s your zodiac sign and what’s the most “sign” thing about you?
  Okay so my sun sign is a Sagittarius, but my moon and rising and five of my planets are all Capricorn, so I identify much more with the Capricorn side of me. In terms of Sag, I love to laugh and make other people laugh and be around people who make me laugh. That side also gives me my FOMO, but I’m an introvert and a homebody, so I don’t get FOMO too often, since I’d usually rather be home alone. In terms of Cap, I’m very logical and grounded, and I don’t like bs. I’m working on enjoying the journey as much as the destination.
• What is a piece of advice you’d give to an AWT Newbie?
  I actually just celebrated my 10-year AWT-iversary, and I gave my top 5 pieces of advice for everyone about how to enjoy this community long term.Here are my thoughts:

• Take a break when you need one– not every show or every season is for you. In that same vein, only do shows you would be excited about having 0 part in! You will regret doing a show that you are only excited about having a lead/featured part.

•  Advocate for your needs–this experience is about you and your comfort and joy. It’s okay to say no to things that make you uncomfortable or that you don’t have room on your plate for.

•  A rising tide lifts all boats! Your positive attitude is contagious, and so is compassion and affirmation. Be open and others will be open with you!

•  Laugh at every rehearsal. Truly you should be laughing and smiling always. It’s okay to get shushed by the CT sometimes (but also be respectful!).

• Stop caring about the show being “good!” This is community theater. Work on your own materials, but don’t worry about everyone else–having fun is the priority, and I promise the show is more entertaining and fun for the audience if you are having a blast!