Simon Maggert is a senior Theatre major from Sheldon, IA. He transferred to NW in the fall of 2024 and has been involved in the theatre department since then. While at NW, he has been a part of lighting, scenic and costume crews, was a board operator for “The Perfect Dog,” acted in two productions, directed a one-act, and is doing a scenic work-study.
Before college, Maggert first got into the theatre during his junior year of high school. He was in a few shows and helped with a high school summer theatre program but wasn’t originally planning on making a career out of it. However, that changed when he saw a college production of “Ride the Cyclone.”
He said, “I found myself having ideas on what I would do and how I would fix it and things I would change. And I said ‘hmm maybe I kind of have a brain for this. Maybe this is what I want to do.’ And yeah, that brought me here.”
One of the first things he did at NW was direct a one-act as part of a directing class. He didn’t really know many people yet, and he found it a little intimidating to be “the guy nobody knows,” as he would be a person leading the process. However, he thoroughly enjoyed the process. Maggert came in with prior directing experience having directed 24 previous shows but was able to gain even more insight on how things should go to get everything done on time.
Maggert also mentioned that it was a good way to get to know people. He didn’t know his actors beforehand, but now they are good friends of his. He mentioned feeling comfortable enough with the show and had enough faith in his actors that instead of practicing, they simply bought pizza and hung out during their last rehearsal time. They also showed him a glimpse into the department he had come into, “…because even though it was only a 10-minute play, these people gave me ideas; they put their heart and soul into it. They wanted to improve. They listened to this guy they didn’t even know, and it was a good eye opener to what community I was about to be putting myself into.”
Through additional NW productions, he learned more about this community. He said, “The sense of ensemble in both shows was surprising. In the shows that I’ve been a part of and the theatre that I’ve done, I was never taught [that] ensemble was very important. Unfortunately, a lot of the theatre that I’ve witnessed or have been a part of was very like ‘these are the leads. They’re the most important people.’ While that’s true, Townsperson #4 is still very important; that’s why they’re there.”
A good example of this is Maggert’s first NW show he acted in, “An Enemy of the People.” He said, “Acting in Enemy showed me […] I was really never taught how to act on a deeper level. It wasn’t until ACTF this year that I really understood the character I was playing in that show.” It helped him take his acting to the next level, even though his character wasn’t very big, because small characters are important, too.
Maggert is also acting in the current show “Defying Gravity.” This show is very different from his first as there are only 7 characters and all of them are big roles.
He says, “I play Ed, husband of Betty. Old man traveling around the U.S. with his wife in their Winnebago. It’s been a bit of a struggle finding the character because I’m fighting previous instincts of how I used to act and trying to incorporate what I’ve learned from the people here about how to act.” However, through lots of trial and error and figuring out what works and doesn’t work, he’s come to learn more about both himself and the character. “The point of my character is an ordinary guy, but that does not mean he’s played like an ordinary guy,” he says. “He’s more than that. There are layers.”
This past year, Maggert has been a scenic work-study. He mentioned coming in with minimal knowledge but getting thrown “straight to the wolves” which helped him gain a lot of skills. Maggert and his fellow work-studies and leaders have also gotten very close, which is important for the building process as it’s a very team intensive thing.
“I don’t think that there’s a person that feels left out,” he says, “it’s very important that your team is close and understands.” Going to work is enjoyable for him because of the environment that has been created.
While at Northwestern, Maggert has grown in many ways. He says the professors “take the playfulness of theatre and teach it the right way […] because theatre is meant to be fun.” He also reflects, “I’ve learned how to make good theatre and how to incorporate people in ways I didn’t know about before […] what it looks like [and] what it doesn’t. I’ve learned steps on how to get there, […] set wise, acting wise, directing wise, or design wise [and] the importance of making connections. I learned how to have fun with it, and how to not just have a boring 9 to 5 job, and how to enjoy what I do. I’ve learned the importance of being stupid now to be smart later.” Maggert hopes to continue theatre to be able to create and allow others to enjoy the gift of art.
After college, Maggert plans to go into the field of education. He’s always loved to make things, but rather than making things “just at a desk,” he wants to be able to share them with others. He says, “I like to learn things, and I like people who like to learn things.” He’s begun applying for jobs at colleges as a professor, theatre program director, and the like. “I want to teach other people how to make good art the way I’ve been taught,” he says, “because there’s a lot of bad art out there and people who don’t understand good art, and that theatre isn’t made to manipulate. It’s made to tell a story.”
