Meet your staff: Teachings of a thespian
“I like watching theater,” Silk said. “I like theater as a form of entertainment. What I like about doing it myself is it’s a chance to explore different aspects of yourself and different aspects of other characters, to put on other roles.”
Silk first began acting in elementary school, discovering a love for the art which drove him to continue performing in plays through high school, college and now alongside his professional teaching career. While each show brings new twists and turns, Silk’s favorite genre of all is comedy.
“The reaction of the audience is just a wonderful feeling,” Silk said. “When you know that there’s a laugh coming and you just pull it off exactly correctly and everybody laughs — that’s just a really fun moment.”
Strike a conversation with Silk and you’ll find that he’s effortlessly funny, or so he claims, his room rife with sardonic sayings like “I tried to listen, but there were so many words” or the ever-pithy “stop talking.” Talk to his students and they’ll say the same, citing the wit and dry humor infused into each lesson.
“He’s probably one of the few people who can use sarcasm in a way that doesn’t diminish a person,” close friend and English department chair Dr. Pauline Paskali said. “I think there’s always a danger with sarcasm. But when Mr. Silk says something sarcastic to a student, I think the student still feels supported and cared for and even kind of charmed that they’re the victim of his sarcasm.”
Silk channels that same energy into his acting, bringing to life each character he portrays in dramatic fashion. From drunken nephews to clandestine lovers to egotistical despots, Silk has played them all during his time in show business. But behind each flawless performance lies countless hours of rehearsing and re-rehearsing, efforts that similarly extend into his teaching.
“The other thing I like about theater, as weird as this may be, is that it makes me a more empathetic teacher,” Silk said. “Because in the rehearsal process, you will frequently go in with a plan, practice it yourself, and do really well and you’re like, ‘I am really good.’ And then the director says, ‘No, no, no, not like that at all.’”
Going with the flow has proven a valuable skill not only in theater but also in the classroom. Shows driven off-script and lesson plans gone awry have become commonplace to Silk, who deftly adjusts to each new nuance. Throw in a charming smile or a quick joke, paired with some split-second ingenuity, and no challenge can’t be overcome.
“One of the hardest things to do in comedy is to know when to start speaking after a laugh,” Silk said. “There’s a specific timing to it. You can be too early and no one will hear you, you can be too late and suddenly you’ve ruined the joke. And to be able to do that, to understand how the audience is flowing is not a whole lot different than seeing how students are paying attention.”
In all his teaching, Silk strives to consistently improve students’ learning experiences, whether that be through engaging anecdotes or adaptive lesson plans. Stop by his class, and you’ll hear him talk about his favorite function, a squiggly sine curve; two stuffed bears, aptly named Bear Minimum and Bear Maximum for their relation to derivatives, or maybe even his cereal stash, for hungry high schoolers.
“The way that he taught is pretty different from most of the teachers I’ve had,” former Calculus student Jack Shen (12) said. “He made it more interesting and we had to think a lot more. He would show us derivations so we actually understood what we were doing. Then on tests or even in class, the problems that we would do required a lot more thinking, which was really enjoyable for me.”
Having had to put himself in the literal shoes of innumerable characters, Silk embraces each new situation with empathy, always seeking to understand the challenges his students face. Silk’s approach of understanding stems from his own experiences, which have not always been smooth sailing.
“There was a point, maybe 15 years ago, where I was just ready to stop,” Silk said. “And I decided no, you know what, just try and do something small and see where it leads. And it ended up leading to some really great parts in the long run, but it took a while; it was tricky.”
Caught between his teaching responsibilities and a stagnating stint on stage, Silk struggled with whether he should even continue acting. But in the face of such a dilemma, one unresolvable through humor and wit, Silk recalled his initial motivation for pursuing theater: enjoyment.
“One of the things that I learned early on is there’s a lot of people that are a lot better at theater than I am,” Silk said. “A lot of people are better singers, better actors, better dancers. So there was a point where I wasn’t getting cast in anything that I really wanted to do. And I just thought pursuing this is sort of silly because of all these other people that are doing much better than I am.”
Over time, Silk resumed his theater commitments, a difficult decision for him. That leap of faith, the belief that following what you love is innately purposeful, drives Silk to press forward and inspire others to do the same.
“Just trust yourself,” Silk said. “But is it right? I don’t know. Just trust yourself. Not knowing if the answer is there or not, not knowing if what you’re doing is good or not, just being able to trust yourself, trust the people around you, that it will be ok.”
An empathetic actor. An inspiring teacher. A community leader. Silk embodies all of these and more, a beloved figure everywhere he goes. A product of love, labor and that intrinsically human pursuit of happiness, his journey, with all its ups and downs, has led him to where he is now: teaching students he cherishes while still harboring that childhood penchant for performing. And he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I like that as part of my acting too that my students get to see me,” Silk said. “Some of my students get to see me in a different way and it’s good to know that we are actually human, and so can have some real feelings too,” and with his trademark sarcasm, “I mean, more or less, I don’t want to go too far.”