Local Hand Directory
Joel Soukkala
Actor.
Director.
Performing Artist.
to share the joy
Joel Soukkala
to share the joy
What's really important to us is staying true to being a community theater — a place where everyone has an opportunity to be involved.
We start the year with a family-friendly or multi-generational show. That kind of production gives people — especially those who are new — a chance to take on smaller roles, to try something out and see if they enjoy it. Of course, some roles in certain shows will go to people who have a bit more experience or who’ve been part of the company before. But we’re very intentional about creating space for newcomers to get their feet wet. Because if you're only casting people who are experienced, then you’re cutting off opportunities for engaging with more members of our community.
The shows where people are learning and discovering their love for theater — those are my favorites to work on. I love when someone comes in totally green and we get to show them all the wonderful things that can come from being part of this. Honestly, I don’t want to just work with polished actors who think they already know everything. I want to share the joy I get from theater with others — that’s the whole goal behind what we do.
thinking about the next show
I used to be more involved in performance, but now it’s more about creating the experience for others. I get this warm, fuzzy feeling when a production wraps and I see how emotional the actors are. For some of them, it’s a bucket list moment — maybe the only time they'll ever do something like this. And that’s powerful. But for me, I’m already thinking about the next show. I’ve got to strike the set and start building again with a whole new group. So I don’t always feel that emotional hit at the end of a production's run, but I do feel it when I see how much it means to others.
