Dr. John Sebestyen

For Associate Professor John Sebestyen, the theatre is a place to be both seen and heard, a place where story-telling and authentic communication come together. “In theatre,” said Sebestyen, “the power of a story well told can change the lives of not only audience members, but also us as participants in the telling of those stories.”

Changing lives and opening doors to new opportunities is the focus of Sebestyen’s teaching. He sees theatre as “a place of convergence for many other studies and art forms.  It can nurture creativity and strengthen community.

“An immense part of learning theatre comes from doing theatre. The courses I teach utilize a variety of strategies and approaches. I feel that it is important to actually put into practice the concepts being studied,” said Sebestyen. He finds that strategy works as well with students in the classroom as in rehearsal, and he seeks to understand them all as individuals.

The completion of Trinity’s Art and Communication Center fills Sebestyen with anticipation for what it will mean to the College and students interested in pursuing communication arts degrees. Trinity’s proximity to professional theatre in Chicago also offers a unique way for student actors, directors, and technicians to explore many aspects of the theatre and experience for themselves the caliber of professional productions that only a city like Chicago can provide.

Sebestyen believes that participation in theatre courses and productions can help students “in whatever area they choose to enter after college. Involvement in theatre requires commitment, discipline, flexibility, and good communication,” all essential skills that can be applied to any career or profession.

Offstage and outside the classroom, Sebestyen enjoys a variety of pursuits, among them traveling, attending performances, reading, and playing the piano. A few personal highlights include seeing the original Broadway cast perform the musical, The Light in the Piazza; reading the book To Kill a Mockingbird; playing Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata; and visiting friends in Herefordshire, England. Native Ohioans, Sebestyen and his wife, Heidi, are the new owners of a 94-year-old brick bungalow in Blue Island, Illinois.

“Hymns as Character Development and Narrative Function in the Plays of Horton Foote,” part of the panel “Music as Formation: Unity, Diversity, Inclusion,” Society for Christian Scholarship in Music; Macon, Georgia, March 2022

“Looking Beyond Field Trips: Developing an Interdisciplinary Place-Based Curricular Program,” with John Fry, Mark Jones, and Lenore Knight-Johnson. Chicago Research Summit; virtual conference, October 2021

“Avoiding Faculty Burnout; Sharing Self-Care Strategies,” session coordinator & chair, with Siouxsie Easter, Sarah J. Fabian, Julie Schmitt, Kathleen Sills, and Christine Williams. Association for Theatre in Higher Education, “Combustion, Energy, Drive: Humanizing the Digital & Envisioning Resilience;” virtual conference, July-August 2020

“Alertness to Oppression: Directing and Teaching Holocaust Plays in an Interdisciplinary Liberal Arts Context,” part of the panel “Never Forget: Teaching the Holocaust through Theatre,” with Alvin Goldfarb, Erika Hughes, Miriam Patterson, and Kellee VanAken. Association for Theatre in Higher Education, Scene Changes: Performing, Teaching, and Working through the Transitions;” Orlando, Florida, August 2019

“Increasing Awareness of Our Own Physicalities: Coaching Newer Actors to More Fully Inhabit Their Own Bodies Onstage,” part of the panel “Getting Physical: Encouraging Physicality in Young Actors,” with Carrie Klypchak, Julie Schmitt, and Christine Williams.  Association for Theatre in Higher Education, “Scene Changes: Performing, Teaching, and Working through the Transitions;” Orlando, Florida, August 2019

Chair, Emerging Scholars Debut Panel of the Religion & Theatre Focus Group, Association for Theatre in Higher Education, Denver, Colorado, August 2008.

Chair, Emerging Scholars Debut Panel of the Religion & Theatre Focus Group, Association for Theatre in Higher Education, New Orleans, Louisiana, July 2007.

“Theatre and the Practices of Healing and Testimony.” Position Paper. Shaping Communities: The Role of Theatre in the Christian Academy, Seminars in Christian Scholarship, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan, July 2007.

“Creative Collaboration: Bridging the Aesthetic Distance between Art and Theatre at a Small Liberal Arts College.” With Emily Kennerk. Association for Theatre in Higher Education, Chicago, Illinois, August 2006.

Session Coordinator / Respondent, “Theatre Session: Performing Memory, Resistance, and Witness.” Trajectories of Memory: Intergenerational Representations of the Holocaust in History and the Arts, Bowling Green, Ohio, March 2006.

Professor of the Year, 2016-2017

Certificate of Merit in Directing, Eurydice, KCACTF (Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival)

Certificate of Merit in Collaborative Performance, The Old Man and the Old Moon, KCACTF

Certificate of Merit in Ensemble Work, The Comedy of Errors, KCACTF

Certificate of Merit in Directing, The Emperor of the Moon, KCACTF

Certificate of Merit in Sound Design (with William Doyle), Andorra, KCACTF

Celebration of Associate Productions, Region 3 of KCACTF, January 2020  (representing the state of Illinois with a scene from The Old Man and the Old Moon)

THE (Association for Theatre in Higher Education)

SDC  (Stage Directors and Choreographers Society), Associate Member

KCACTF (Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival)

TCG  (Theatre Communications Group)

CITA  (Christians in Theatre Arts)

Conference Planner / Focus Group Representative-Elect, TLA (Theatre as a Liberal Art) Focus Group, ATHE