SOUTH BEND — It’s not in Gary, Indiana, and the Wells Fargo Wagon may not be coming down the street, but a real-life Music Man is heading to South Bend this month for the opening of the Raclin Murphy Encore Center, the 20,000-square-foot expansion of the Morris Performing Arts Center.
New York-native writer, producer, actor, educator and director Gary Edwin Robinson leads the Theatre Arts Program at Boys and Girls High School in Brooklyn, New York. He’s also the winner of the 2025 Excellence in Theatre Education Award, presented jointly by Carnegie Mellon University and The Tony Awards.
Robinson is coming to South Bend and participating in three free public events as part of the Encore Center’s Grand Opening Series, running now through Feb. 7.
The importance of being earnest … about theater education
Curtis said he asked Robinson to come to South Bend for the Encore Center festivities because of his connection with arts education. He said he sees it as an especially important opportunity for students to hear from someone in the theater industry who also teaches.
“He’s an educator in the arts, and this is a space for the arts, and we don’t get Tony Award winners every day to come give a lecture,” Curtis said. “… I think he’s gonna give us a lot of insight.”
For his part, Robinson said he’s looking forward to participating in the opening festivities.
He said he hopes that people who attend his events during the Grand Opening Series leave with a call to action — a desire to support the arts and, more specifically, arts and theater educators. Whether it’s sponsoring a school’s theater program, asking a fine arts teacher what help they need or simply attending local school productions, Robinson said, community members can give of their time and money to ensure arts education has a strong future.
When The Tribune spoke with him on Jan. 11, he said he was still putting his thoughts together on what his Jan. 22 lecture will focus on, but broadly, Robinson said, it’ll look at his experience in theater education and why it’s important. Theater education, he said, is crucial because it accomplishes two things: Not only does it teach students how to hone their performing skills, but it also develops a future audience.
“You’re educating the student who has this high interest, who wants to pursue a career in some area of theater,” Robinson said, “and in the long run, you’re continuing the development of theater for future practitioners.”
And that mission carried over to Robinson’s response to winning his prestigious theater education award, which, he said, came as a complete surprise. The award and recognition are a huge honor, he said, but at the end of the day, “it is about the student.”
“It’s the reward of those students getting into the two- or four-year colleges, getting that audition, getting that internship and watching their lives transform,” Robinson said.
And the lessons learned in theater education, he said, apply to every other discipline, Robinson said, asserting students learn public speaking, communication and self-awareness skills — skills that are useful in any field. He gave the example of a former student who took what he learned in Robinson’s class and developed a successful career in sports management.
“It’s a wonderful thing, and it changes the student. Knowing who they are, they become much more comfortable with themselves,” Robinson said. “And you see it in their language, their body language and their writing.
“It lends itself to all areas, so no one loses. Everyone gains. And that’s the whole beauty of this theater education thing.”
Email South Bend Tribune staff reporter Rayleigh Deaton at rdeaton@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Tony Award-winner giving free public talks for Encore Center opening
Reporting by Rayleigh Deaton, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
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