This school year, Trinitas introduced two new, very important members to the Trinitas community: Mr. Michael Betts as Artistic Director and Katie Decreny as Thespian Troupe Co-Sponsor. I got to interview them both and learned so much about them!

Q: What prompted you to want to become a director for Trinitas?

Katie: I directed once before and I always wanted to get back into that side of things. I just enjoy the teaching part of it. The opportunity presented itself and I said yes please!

Mr. Betts: It’s really easy. When I was in 7th grade, I came to see “Fiddler on the Roof” here at the Servite theatre, and I was desperate to come to high school here. For various reasons, I didn’t get to come to high school here. So when Mr. Marrone asked me to teach an acting class, I thought “I get to be at Trinitas which is what I have wanted for so long!” When Mr. Marrone said he was thinking of leaving and asked if I would be interested, it was an obvious yes! It goes back to God always puts you on the right path. I didn’t get to come to high school like I wanted to at the time, but now I am able to help put the program together.

Q: What experience do you have in theatre?

Katie: I went to a performing arts high school in Las Vegas and I went to college for theatre design and stage management at Viterbo University in La Cross, Wisconsin. And then I ended up here after a brief hiatus. I got back into doing tech and music directing for the Junior Thespians.

Mr. Betts: When I was a kid, I started performing in our Civic Light Opera shows, I did “Peter Pan” the first time Kathy Rigby ever did “Peter Pan,” that was my first professional theatre show. Those adults put me under their wing and decided when I was 12 that I could work in an office. All through high school, I would walk from St. Anthony’s to the Civic Light Offices and I would do work after school. I went from high school to performing at Disneyland and then I went Cincinnati Conservatory of Music for college. Along the road, I decided that performing wasn’t necessarily my passion anymore and I started to working film and TV casting — I worked on “Greys Anatomy’s” first season. The office I worked for was completely in charge of casting for the pilot! Although film and TV was great, I missed theatre. So, I worked for casting at the Center Theatre Group which is the Ahmanson and the Mark Tape and I got to work on the original production of the “Drowsy Chaperone.” I also got to work on “Cherry Orchard” with Annette Benning, which was really cool! In between there, somewhere, I got to be the assistant director of a version of “Sweeney Todd” at the Ahmanson that I got to take notes for Sondheim during one of the dress rehearsals. I had a friend who was the general director for Musical Theatre West in Long Beach and he asked if I would  ever give up casting to work in a box office and marketing. Because I was driving from Long Beach to DTLA every day, I decided that that was right for me. I got to produce a whole series at Musical Theatre West for eight years and then this opportunity came up! I’m not always grateful, which I should be, but when I look back I notice that I really was at the right place at the right time all the time. I don’t know that I can say that for everyone, but I truly am fortunate.

Q: What is your favorite musical and/or play?

Katie: I think probably, if I’m honest with myself, “Sweeney Todd.”

Mr. Betts: It changes as I get older but I will say my favorite is “Sunday in the Park with George,” but the show that brings me the most joy at all times is “42nd street.”

Q: Outside of Trinitas, what hobbies do you enjoy?

Katie: I play music, I sing, I like to cook, and I like to play video games. Unwind and read sometimes too.

Mr. Betts: I love to cook, bake,  read, I go to Disneyland a lot, and I obsesively buy tea.

Q: Where were you born and/raised?

Katie: I was born here in Anaheim. I lived here for a little while and I moved to Vegas for middle school and high school.

Mr. Betts: I was born and raised in Long Beach California and I attended St. Anthony’s High School

Q: What has been your favorite part about being a director at Trinitas so far?

Katie: The team. We have a really great family here. The students are great, the teachers are great and it is very positive and promotes learning and expressing yourself and all those necessary things for going out into the world and being successful, it’s really great.

Mr. Betts: All of the students are kind, supportive of eachother, openhearted, and smart and its really the kindness and the love of the program that really hits every single  person. And every year that I taught acting 3/4, I thought, well this will be the year that I get somebody that goes against that and every year, I am proven wrong. Every year you all are amazing human beings, and I often say, “If we had to turn the world over to the students of Trinitas tomorrow, we would be in good hands.”

Q: What is your mission/ something new you are looking forward to implementing at your time here at Trinitas?

Katie: Mostly, I just want to make sure that everyone is learning and also having fun. Kind of taking the self seriousness out of theatre, as it can sometimes be. Take away the pressure and just do it and let yourself go and be vulnerable without it being a scary or dramatic experience.

Mr. Betts: I just really want to support the kindness and the open heartedness here and really make sure that there’s a platform for all the. I want the Trinitas students to grow and honor those qualities in themselves even more, because we need that in this world so desperately. The arts matter so much and I want to here make sure that we spread the word of that. Everything we do; academics, sports in an educational setting is very important to the lives of the students. Theatre almost forces compassion. You cannot do what we do authentically without being openhearted and being compassionate because we ask actors to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes and you have to bring a non-biased, non-judgmental viewpoint to the characters to truly make them live and its something that there’s no other piece of academia or sports that asks that. To take people’s biases and judgement out and in order to put the characters together you can’t have that judgement or bias. So what we do in the arts is really unique and it flows to our tech crews as well, I see how incredibly supportive our tech students are, they are literally the best. I love having students that are willing to come and be leader, because everyone needs to be a leader in our society in some way.

We are so excited to see everything that they will accomplish within the Trinitas community and are looking for the year to come!