Today we’d like to introduce you to Toni Butler.
Hi Toni, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I have always loved theatre! I love how theatre can change lives! I guess you can say, I believe in theatre. My dream was to someday have a theatre of my own. I would sketch up floor plans of my dream theatre all the time. Meanwhile, I earned my BFA in Theatre Education and taught at East High School (go, leopards!).
Then I moved away and left my beloved job at East to be a home mom in South Jordan. This is where the story of Kensington Theatre began, back in 2007. Our community was all new and no one really knew each other. Well, I know how the arts bring people together so I approached the Daybreak Community Council to put on The Wizard of Oz. They agreed and it was a tremendous success involving over 200 community members and performed to sold-out audiences!
The community thirsted for more… so the adults and I in The Wizard of Oz formed Daybreak Community Theatre, an independent community theatre. South Jordan City wrapped its arms around our company and encouraged a name change to reflect the entire community our company served. So, we became South Jordan Community Theatre and opened our first season with Peter Pan!
I have approached some ladies in my neighborhood to be a founding member of Early Light Academy. My part was to build a theatre! We couldn’t afford one when we first opened in 2008, but after expanding in 2015, all my sketches were now needed: I was going to design my own theatre! A raked audience, fly system, orchestra pit, black box, and a stage big enough to have large casts but an audience small enough to keep things intimate.
After seven seasons with my company, we moved into an exciting new theatre! We also changed our name to Kensington Theatre Company! Kensington Gardens is where Peter Pan also began his adventures. His mantra “I am a youth, I am joy, I am freedom!” is also what we at Kensington Theatre also celebrate. So, Kensington became a natural and charismatic fit for us!
This change in name for our seventh season also marked the first production we produced in the new theatre at Early Light Academy. We became a resident theatre company at Early Light Academy (a wonderful partnership!) where I also get to teach theatre!
We are now in our 14th season! Our theatre is called “home” by many. We laugh and cry and do theatre, together. Every day I walk into the theatre, I feel so blessed and amazing that I am teaching and directing in this theatre. I hope this feeling never goes away!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it has been HARD WORK but it has been fun. The people I have been on this journey with are amazing! Not having a place to dig in our feet, a theatre home, was hard. We had many strikes till 5a to get out of a rental in time. But again, we had fun along the way!
In the summer of 202o, our youth begged us to not cancel our production of Les Miserables. They needed a social outlet. We had no idea the ride we would be going on but we believed in our team and we believe in our teens. To make it a shorter story we had no idea if we would perform live or not.
So, I came in on our first full dress rehearsal and asked the team if we could make it into a live performance because there was a huge chance we wouldn’t get to perform! So at 5:30 pm, we told the cast and they invited one person to come to see them. We had never run the show before (because we decided to film/stream it so everyone could see it)! It was amazing! With a live orchestra, they did it and it was so beautiful!! Fortunately, they got to perform it three more times.
We are young, but very ambitious and driven by our theatre family, living life in a new theatre! Then last June, I received a call from my husband asking if I was okay. Why? He said the theatre was on fire! My heart broke! I drove as fast as I could to my theatre and it was on fire! Lightning struck it.
The firemen came so quickly and put it all out, but the water and smoke damage were devastating. My theatre family spent endless hours restoring our home. In December, we were able to put on our first full production since the fire.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a director, actor, lighting designer, set designer, costume designer, producer, teacher, mother, and now a grandmother! I, personally, am known for my energy, enthusiasm, ambition, and positive attitude. I’m proud that my theatre puts on excellent plays on a shoestring budget and that we create positive experiences for the cast, crew, and audience.
I am most proud when I know theatre has made a difference in my life. Whether through our productions or our education programs. I had a student sign up for my junior high summer program. He attended Early Light Academy and I knew he was a self-declared mute. I told him he would be expected to say lines and sing. He said he would. And he did! I was so amazed, I told some of our teachers that knew him to come to see him talk AND sing!
We all cried and celebrated his victory. Then this last summer, he signed up for our Teen Boot Camp for high school. I hadn’t seen him for 5 years! He came back because he was having an awful time with life and his mom made him sign up for something and he chose theatre.
So he came back begrudgingly but by the end, he was in tears, so grateful for the friends and experiences he had that helped him in life, not just theatre. There are so many stories like this! They keep me going when sometimes it’s not so easy to do.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Always be kind. People want to work with kind people. The theatre world is small so build a good reputation for yourself that is talented and kind.
Contact Info:
- Email: contact@kensingtontheatre.org
- Website: www.KensingtonTheatre.org
- Instagram: @kensingtontheatre
- Facebook: @kensingtontheatre
- Youtube: KensingtonTheatre
Image Credits
Toni Butler, Kelly Elggren
