It is a small, cozy theatre where the seats start right at the edge of the stage. The lights go dim and the first act begins. Soon, a familiar voice is heard and the rabbi enters the stage. From his very first line, the audience erupts in laughter. With gray hairspray in his hair, dressed in shorts, long socks, and a tucked in polo t-shirt, the actor delivers his lines with confidence and full expression. Bermuda Avenue Triangle, “a risqué comedy with suggestive language” according the Hillbarn Theatre website, presented our very own AP Calculus teacher, Anthony Silk in a run from January 22^nd to February 2^nd.

Silk has enjoyed acting since elementary school, and has continued to act on his own after college. Even though he has never taken formal acting classes, he has still been cast in several productions. His most recent play was at the Hillbarn Theatre, one that Silk particularly likes because “it’s small, the people behind the scenes are very friendly and easy to work with, and it’s a community theatre; everyone has job, and there is a basic understanding that [acting] is not your life.” For Silk, the content of the play trumps the cast and crew involved, though those are still extremely important aspects of a good performance to him.

Acting, along with his job as a teacher and Navy reserve status, is time consuming, and Silk often grades papers during backstage time. Although he is passionate about the theatre, he does not feel that he could make acting a full time profession.

“It’s a really difficult lifestyle, to always have to be looking for a job,” Silk said. “Also, there is a bit of repetitiveness to it that I don’t think I would really enjoy in the long run. I can’t imagine doing the same show for a year.”

As a teacher, he finds it easier at the beginning of the school year to conduct classes or to teach under observation because of his acting experience; many of his colleagues have expressed surprise when they learn of this dimension of his life. In other ways as well, acting has modified his perspective as a teacher. Silk finds that he benefits a lot from the constructive criticism that he receives from his directors.

“It’s also a constant reminder that even if something is good, it can always be better,” he said

His role as a teacher has affected his perception of the acting process and vice versa. In general, Silk likes acting because it prepares him for “the uncomfortable and awkward situations in life.”

Silk enjoys the challenge of putting himself out there and committing to a wide range of expression. The process may have tied him closer to the Performing Arts Department. For example, he sometimes asks Performing Arts teacher Jeffrey Draper for advice in dialogue delivery.

Additionally, all his time on stage has perhaps made him more aware of the finer points of theatrical performance. While Silk watches shows mostly for his own entertainment, “[he] sometimes picks up on things, and thinks about the way he would have [acted] it.”

Silk loved his role as the rabbi in Bermuda Avenue Triangle because it was a silly comedy, he said. “Everybody says I’m just as sarcastic in real life as the character.”