What colleagues are saying about me in their own words.
Mr. Rotrekl watches a rehearsal with colleague and choreographer Elizabeth Freed.
“I have had the wonderful opportunity to work with Brian Rotrekl as my cooperating teacher during my student teaching placement at Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz K-12. Mr. Rotrekl has been a wonderful teacher and mentor to not only myself, but to his students as well. I appreciated Mr. Rotrekl’s flexibility and patience when working with him during this experience, especially during our unique situation of being completely virtual throughout the entire semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As my cooperating teacher, I felt Mr. Ro gave me a true sense of freedom to explore and try my ideas; Mr. Ro allowed me to fully run where I wanted to go with the curriculum in all his theatre classes and I always felt supported by Mr. Ro throughout all of my decisions. Brian Rotrekl is a true professional in the world of theatre education and a well-seasoned theatre artist. I am truly grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Brian Rotrekl and look forward to joining him in the field of theatre education next school year.”
Mr. Rotrekl directs his students as they run a scene.
“Thank you for the wonderful play—Beauty and the Beast—that your 70+ students presented this past weekend. It was outstanding! One had to stop and think—the students that are performing are in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade! Just out of this world! Thanks to fellow staff members that assisted you, and parents who assisted with costumes, scenery and just being outstanding visual and verbal support to their children. As a member of the Board of Education, I am proud of your talents as a teacher and the time you give to your students each and every day.”
“Brian’s thesis documentation and production were outstanding—at the top of the 200 research documents I have read, and productions I have seen. The thoughtful analysis and details within were, of course, the most important aspect.
I have observed Brian in each of his classes the past three summers. His preparation, insight and focus were excellent. He is friendly, open to the views of others, responsive to group dynamics and is a thoughtful and intuitive director. His class presentations, design projects and scene work have been outstanding.
As a former high school teacher and theatre director, I know that Brian has the skills and temperament required of an excellent teacher/director. His success in graduate school and the high quality of his thesis production exemplified his motivation and passion, collaborative work ethic, drive and professionalism. Brian loves working with students and he knows theatre is a valuable part of their education, helping them develop important life skills of collaboration, leadership, compassion and personal responsibility. ”
Mr. Rotrekl leading an English lesson.
Mr. Rotrekl and his father (called “Papa Ro” by students) celebrate the completion of the Casa Rosada for Evita.
“Our students are as varied as our venues. The rigors of English are a sharp contrast to the passion filled young performing artists in an acting class. Brian managed both very well. He brought his knowledge of the art to the class with appropriate authority and exercised the patience needed to present abstract ideas and concepts of the theatre. In other words, he could nurture without having to coddle the recalcitrant student.
Any theatre program makes a wide variety of demands on its participants. No two days are ever alike. Brian handled the chaos with poise and purpose. His calm was used effectively on several occasions. I have no doubt your program will only benefit by the inclusion of Mr. Brian Rotrekl.
And I can say that I was pleasantly comforted when I learned Brian was hired to take the job I retired from after 30 years.”
“As a Morton East Theatre alumni I can honestly say that theatre shaped me tremendously as an individual, It was the greatest three years of my life and it was integral to my high school experience. When I went to see EVITA at Morton East in 2013 I was completely blown away and moved to tears when I saw the quality of the production. My beloved high school theatre was being used to its fullest again. I came back the next year to work on BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and was completely blown away by the hard work and dedication Mr. Rotrekl brings to the Arts and to his students. They made history with one of the largest turn outs the school had ever seen for a production. I worked closely with those students and I can tell you that without a doubt they all look up to Mr. Rotrekl, are inspired by him, and above all adore him.”
“I worked with Brian on the school plays as his choreographer. Brian’s dedication to the students, the parents, as well as the set and costumes, was voracious. I have seen Brian work with students – both in the classroom, and as a director for the shows. He has the ability to pull energy from within the students like nothing I have ever seen. Brian’s encouragement has helped many to move past peer pressure and become a true star on stage.”
Mr. Rotrekl with the Fine Arts Team from Acero Cruz High School.
Mr. Rotrekl with fellow Masters in Directing student Joselyn Ludtke at the premiere of her Thesis production.
“Mr. Rotrekl’s dedication and commitment to our students has made him an invaluable member of our staff. He developed a drama curriculum that was both innovative and engaging, and because of his energetic and creative lessons his students are always engaged and learning and he is one of those teachers whose discipline style is both firm and flexible, going above and beyond to address the different learners in his classroom.
Since Mr. Rotrekl arrived at our school he has taken our shows to another level we never thought possible! He spends countless hours rehearsing, building sets, and creating costumes in order to provide his students with a positive experience that lasts a lifetime. His enthusiasm and energy motivates and inspires students, staff, and parents to become eager participants in his vision.”
“Throughout the past school year, I have had the pleasure of working closely with Brian Rotrekl. He entered as the new guy into a team of feisty and headstrong oral communication teachers, and after his first witty remark, muttered slightly under his breath, we all hysterically laughed and gleefully accepted him as one of our own. As someone with a theatre background, I recognize in Brian his absolute willingness to outsource his creativity and acceptance to his colleagues as well as his students. He welcomes all walks of life into his world and appreciates diversity on stage and in the classroom. Because of this, he brings that charismatic spark to his stage direction and to his lesson planning and he will continue to do so no matter where his future endeavors take him.”
Mr. Rotrekl helps coach his Group Interpretation team.
“I was fortunate to have worked with Brian Rotrekl as music director on three productions: EVITA, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, and WEST SIDE STORY. And having since worked with other directors, I can state unequivocally that I would rather be working with Brian.
As a director and an educator, he holds his students, his colleagues, and himself to an extremely high level of excellence. His expectations are high, but he also gives them the tools they need, and guides them along every step of the way. He brings in the best people to teach and supplement whatever is needed on that particular project, and guides the overall vision wonderfully. I found myself working harder to keep up, improving my craft and teaching as well.
From purely a logistical standpoint, I can’t stress enough his attention to detail, his planning, his ability to juggle every aspect of both education and production. He did a lot of work behind the scenes; he made it easy for me to come in and be able to work on the vocals, the dancing, and rehearsing the pit orchestra, especially as a member of the production staff who was not a full time staff member at the school. He remembers that the actors and techs are also students, and does things like ensuring they do their homework, eat during long Saturday tech calls, and are making plans for their education and future beyond that current production.
Brian also has a keen artist’s eye, and has a clear view of what the final performance will look like, in every aspect . Often, I couldn’t see it until it all came together beautifully. He has fresh, innovative ideas, and I can’t wait to see what he creates in the future.”
Mr. Rotrekl and choreographer, Lynn Arevalo, on a field trip with students from Morton East High School Theatre.
“Brian Rotrekl is a stand out in every way! He is a consummate artist and is extremely knowledgeable and creative with his craft. He is a sensitive, caring and compassionate theatre professional, and additionally Brian is a top notch teacher. Brian’s ability to create scenic designs that speak to the theatrical life of each production is absolutely amazing as I have had the pleasure to work with him as his choreographer many times. Each season Brian has developed very strong mentoring relationships with his students. He works very hard at what he loves and has a great theatrical eye to build a whole production from beginning to end like no other. Brian is “True Talent” and is so dedicated to all he does!”
“During our first few conversations, it became clear that Brian has extensive and deep knowledge of Theatre. Creating content and teaching four separate classes as well as running rehearsal time is no small accomplishment. Each lesson he designs for his classes, he puts the students’ learning at the forefront. Brian often creates opportunity for student choice in his lesson designs allowing student flexibility to showcase their skills. ”