Disney Extra Credit - Fall 2013 - (Page 11)
career spotlight
Thomas Schumacher, Producer and President, Disney Theatrical Productions
T
homas Schumacher is Producer
and President of Disney Theatrical
Productions, a role that enables
him to oversee the development,
creation and execution of Disney live
entertainment around the globe. He is
responsible for Broadway titles in New
York, across the U.S. and around the
world, along with Disney on Ice and
Disney Live! shows.
But before Thomas was producing
Broadway hits such as The Lion King,
he was a theatre student growing
up in the San Francisco area. He
attributes arts funding in schools with
the ample opportunities he had as
a youth to experience professional
theatre, opera, ballet and more. It was
this exposure to the arts from a young
age that ignited his passion for theatre
and encouraged him to begin teaching
and directing youth theatre programs
while in high school and, ultimately,
why Thomas went on to study theatre
while in college at UCLA.
To date, Thomas has produced seven
shows on Broadway, and currently,
he oversees the more than 27
Disney Theatrical Productions shows
running around the world. And he still
appreciates the importance of passing
knowledge onto emerging talent.
Thomas is an adjunct professor at
Columbia University, and also mentors a
group of high school students through
the Theatre Development Fund.
“The great luck of working in the
theatre is that we are always students
and we are always simultaneously
teachers,” states Thomas. “You’re
always learning and you’re always
studying something new.”
Thomas believes that one’s success in
the entertainment industry really does
depend on education.
“
The greatest influences on
my life were teachers.
- Thomas Schumacher
”
“My advice to those who want to
pursue a career in theatre is to get a
great education,” he says. “In theatre
our job is to present and share the
human experience with others. But
if you haven’t studied the history of
the human experience, the depth of
psychology and the roots of art, you
simply can’t do that. You need a deep
vocabulary and an understanding of
classical lines, form and structure. And
you need a very deep knowledge of the
human condition. You’re only going to
get that from a liberal arts education.”
“The greatest influences on my life
were teachers,” he says. “I had a
college professor who taught the role
of the producer and I have a career
because of him. One of my teachers
taught me everything from how to
hang a light to how to pay it forward.
So my whole life has been shaped
by teachers.”
After working in theatre throughout
college, performing “every function
there is in a theater except playing
in an orchestra,” Thomas’ career
took him into a different side of the
arts when he joined the Walt Disney
Animation Studios as a producer.
After being named President of
Animation, he oversaw more than 20
of Disney’s animated films including
“The Lion King,” “The Nightmare
Before Christmas,” “Pocahontas,”
“The Hunchback of Notre Dame,”
“Mulan,” “Tarzan,” and “Lilo & Stitch,”
as well as working closely with Pixar
on their first five films. But Thomas’
involvement in films like “The Lion
King” eventually led him back to his
theatre roots when he was tasked with
creating new shows for Broadway,
such as AIDA, Mary Poppins, Peter and
the Starcatchers and Newsies.
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Disney Extra Credit - Fall 2013
Disney Extra Credit - Fall 2013
Contents
Welcome
Walt Disney, Educator
Career Spotlight
A Touching Reunion
Engineering for Today
Career Spotlight
Research and Storytelling
Center Stage
Disney Dreamers Academy
The Path to Newsies
Creativity in the Classroom
Educational Field Trips
Inspiring Through Theatre
Festival Disney Turns 10
New Learning Opportunities
The Visual Musicians
Beyond the Bright Lights
Music Education Excellence
Focus on the Future
Poetic License
Spotlight On: The Disney Honors
Disney Performing Arts Alumni
Mickey’s Education Adventure
Disney Performing Arts Opportunities
Disney Youth Education Series Opportunities
Students Get the “Scoop”
The Fundamentals of Finance
Advertisers and Thank You
Travel Planner Honors
Mickey’s Mind Teasers
Disney Extra Credit - Fall 2013
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