Mr. Hastings
Mr. Hastings has been teaching theatre at Olathe South since 2002. Before joining the Olathe School District, Mr. Hastings taugth theatre at Southwest Junior High School in Lawrence, Kansas. He also directed shows at Lawrence High School and sponsored their Thespian Troupe at the Kansas Thespian Festival. Before becoming a theatre educator, Mr. Hastings worked in retail banking as an officer and branch manager. He has served as the chapter director of Kansas Thespian, adjudicated shows for Educational Theatre Association, serves on the scholarship committee at the International Thespian Festival, volunteered on committees and special projects for EdTA and has served as a treasurer for the EdTA board of directors. His musicals at Olathe South have been nominated for several Starlight Theatre Blue Star Awards including outstanding overall production in 2003, 2007, 2013, and 2014. He won the Starlight Blue Star Award for Outstanding Direction for Hello Dolly in 2007 and the Outstanding Overall Production for 13 in 2013. His productions of You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown, 13, Crush and Trap performed on the main stage at the International Thespian Festival. For Kansas Thespians, Mr. Hastings helped produce the all state musicals James and the Giant Peach and Bring It On that were performed at the Kansas Thespian and International Thespian Festivals. His students have also performed two Chapter Select plays, Dead and The Bully Plays, at the International Thespian Festival. Mr. Hastings’ students have qualified three times for the National English Speaking Union Shakespeare Competition at Lincoln Center in New York City. Twice, his students have placed in the top ten at this competition. His Thespian troupe has received the Outstanding School Award from the Educational Theatre Association in 2013 and 2020. His program received the 2016 Best High School Program in the Midwest from Stage Directions magazine. Mr. Hastings has acted in community and professional theaters in the Kansas City metropolitan area. He has also appeared on radio and tv shows/commericals produced in Kansas City. He has directed serveral shows at Shawnee Mission Theatre in the Park, inclduing Gypsy, Les Miserables (student edition), Urinetown, Peter Pan, The Drowsy Chaperone, and Back to the 80's. He has been recognized in Stage Direction, Dramatics, Teaching Theatre, KC Stage, and the Kansas City Star. He has also been recognized three times as a master teacher at Olathe South, and has received an Educator Excellence award from the Olathe Schools Foundation. Mr. Hastings was inducted into the Kanas Thespians Hall of Fame in 2020. He studied theatre at the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University, and has a bachelor’s degree in theatre/film and a master’s degree in education from the University of Kansas. Mr. Hastings completed his certification in theatre education from Ottawa University. His love of theatre started in preschool and continued in Susan Dinges creative dramatics classes at UMKC through elementary school. Mr. Hastings love of theatre education was inspired by his high school theatre teachers, Maureen Davis and Margaret McClatchey, at Shawnee Mission North High School. He was Best Thespian at SMN in 1989. He is a teacher today because of his wife’s passion for teaching math, his great uncle’s career as an educator/football coach in Texas, his high school drama teachers and junior high school gym and basketball coach (Robert Corder). His wife, Amy, is the math department co-chair at Olathe South. His three children (Isaiah, Anna, & Noah) attend the Southern Methodist University, the University of Kansas, and Frontier Trail Middle School. When Mr. Hastings is not doing theatre, he likes Disney (especially the theme parks), Nintendo, and college basketball.