T.S. Murphy with Andrew Blais in Deathtrap
In his 1905 play Man and Superman, George Bernard Shaw famously included the line "Those who can, do; those who can't, teach." This derogatory phrase is often used to denigrate theatre educators who have made the sacrifice to dedicate their careers to students, particularly at a time when arts-focused education is often the first to be cut in budget crises.
Clearly George Bernard Shaw never met T.S. Murphy to see firsthand that there are those who can do AND teach. Teaneck High School’s lone drama teacher, commonly known as Mr. Murphy or just “Murph” to hundreds of former and current theatre students, is actively proving just how wrong Mr. Shaw was. Performing in Ira Levin’s comedy thriller Deathtrap, currently running at Players Guild of Leonia through February 4, Mr. Murphy is inspiring both his own students and lucky audience members with his fantastic portrayal of attorney Porter Milgram.
For T.S. Murphy, the acting bug bit early, starting with performances in the ensemble of musicals while in high school. As a Senior, he was cast as one of the leads in Babes in Arms, and this sealed his fate. “I told my very hardworking, single mother that I wasn’t going to college, I was going to be an actor! She in turn said, “You better act like you have common sense and go to college…” which I did,” said Murphy.
The longtime Bergen County resident heeded his mother’s advice, graduated from Hackensack High School, and then graduated from Ramapo College of NJ with a BA in communications and theatre. Murphy connected with a stellar inspirational theatre teacher, Mary Ellen Allison, at at Ramapo; she nurtured his pursuit of directing, writing, and acting in various productions (Cabaret, Bad Habits, An Actor’s Nightmare, Twelfth Night, Much Ado, Othello, Tempest, to name a few). Murphy says “I knew I found my calling and my tribe in the theatre.”
Mr. Murphy followed a non-linear path to becoming Teaneck High’s performing arts educator. He served as the Educator Director of a non-profit organization in New York City, and then enjoyed success in publishing essays and poems. Later he says “I was looking for another teaching position. I applied for the paraprofessional position at Teaneck High in the Fall of 2006. While tutoring one of the students, he was telling me about a monologue he had to do for his theatre class. I started to help him interpret the character, intentions, etc. He invited me to watch him perform in his class. The Theatre teacher at that time was about to leave, she encouraged me to apply for the position. That was over seventeen years ago.”
Murphy found his calling in teaching theatre and clearly puts his heart and soul into it. “Over the years, I’ve had students continue in the arts, performing, acting, directing, working in the film industry, performing off-Broadway, etc. Nothing puts a smile on my face like seeing one of my ‘theatre children’ live out their wildest dreams, which has become my dream as well. I knew at this stage of my life that my success would be my students and the art they create - or so I thought before Deathtrap came along…” he said.
Although absent from the stage as a performer for many years, it was during the pandemic that he rediscovered his first love. “I was part of a panel on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion where I met TaNisha Fordham, a playwright/director, who asked me to read for her adaptation of 12 Angry Jurors (her version, 12 Mo’Angry Jurors). In her adaptation, there was a White Female Police officer who killed a young Black Girl; all the jurors were people of color, with the exception of one lone White Juror. I played Juror #11, a Nigerian man. It was an original, creative, theatrical experience that we performed as part of the Summer Festival in the city of Newark, outside of Prudential Center in the summer of 2021.”
Post-pandemic, it was back to the classroom and his theatre children - first virtually, then slowly in person. But, a unique opportunity, stemming from his world as a theatre educator, led to his return to the stage this winter. He described his process of being cast in Deathtrap - “One of the hidden blessings of teaching talented children is getting to know their families. Chris Hietikko, the director of Deathtrap, is someone I’m proud to call a friend and a fellow theatre practitioner. I saw his production of Hand to God at the Nutley Little Theatre and it blew my mind. He pays attention to details in the text and characterization. It was an emotional rollercoaster. Over coffee, he asked if I was interested in auditioning for his production of Deathtrap - I honestly thought he was kidding or being generous. I read the play and my muse got excited - I kept thinking about it…can I do it, should I do it. I haven’t auditioned in years, I got a callback, and when I found out I got the part - my entire being went into shock. I didn’t tell anyone…I didn’t think it was real, kinda waiting for the other shoe to drop. It was real and simply the best thing I’ve done in years.”
Balancing outstanding teaching and motivating students by day with the collegial and creative process of putting up a stage show by night, Murph has further demonstrated the fallacy of Mr. Shaw’s old adage. So many of our finest educators bring their professional experiences back to the classroom in order to further enhance their students development. When asked how being a part of Deathtrap has informed his teaching, Mr. Murphy said: “First, the cast and crew of Deathtrap are seasoned professionals - various backgrounds and skills - but coming together to bring this production to fruition leads me back to what I tell my students all the time, ‘theatre is a collaborative art form.’ I believe and teach the pedagogy of ‘people learn by doing.’ As educators and actors/theatre practitioners, we must do the Verb (action) and as well as the Noun (being). Watching how Chris directs and interacts with the cast and crew reminds me that this is ‘creative play’ - that we are all in this ‘sandbox’ playing with characters, themes, lighting, sound, setting, etc. We know how hard it is to put together a production, no less with five characters, on a thrust stage so we approach the work with the love, determination, and sensitivity it deserves, but also WE are learning and discovering together. And as my amazing director always tells us, ‘remember to have fun out there - enjoy it.’ Then I had an AHA moment, I’ve always told my students that for years and I have never taken that advice for myself. Simply put, I’m enjoying the hell out of this production and I hopefully will continue to play in other sandboxes in years to come.”
Murphy has played the role of stellar theatre educator to inspire students for many years now. His considerable impact on his students is evidenced by their own words. Devon Wells was a THS theatre student, who also went on to graduate from Murphy’s alma mater, Ramapo College, with a degree in theatre. Wells said: “T.S Murphy has always been one of my biggest supporters. He always knew what advice or note to give because he knows what it’s like to be an actor trying to find your way in the world. Knowing that I have him in my corner means the world to me.”
Wells added, “Teachers who wholeheartedly care about their professions are some of the most important people we will ever meet in our lives. And I can think of no better person who exemplifies this than T.S Murphy. Everything I know about acting, I learned from him.”
Teaneck High School drama students with their teacher T.S. Murphy and actor Nikolas Elrifi at a performance of Deathtrap
THS alum Jacob Santos is currently studying drama at NYU. He caught his former teacher and mentor’s performance in Deathtrap last week, and said “Mr. Murphy was always supporting and watching me on stage, and I wondered if I would ever get a chance to see the roles reversed. So when I heard that he was returning to the stage, I could not be more excited. As soon as he came out, I started smiling, because I saw a person who put his trust in me, as I did for him. It was an honor to see him embody his character, because this man could not be a bigger inspiration for me. This was his moment and he took it. As his former student, I could not be more proud of him.”
Mr. Murphy’s current and former THS students could not be more proud, and inspired by seeing their teacher on stage. Devon Wells said: “Getting to see him perform on stage is a great experience. Anyone that gets to collaborate with him should consider themselves lucky.” Several of Murphy’s current THS theatre students attended the final dress rehearsal, and absolutely loved the unique opportunity to see their teacher perform. THS senior Esa Gadson said “Seeing Murphy on stage was something I never thought I’d get to see! After four years of him being my teacher and finally seeing him act, it honestly made me really proud as his student!” THS senior Henry Hietikko-Parsons added “It was amazing and inspiring seeing him act, especially because he seemed to be having so much fun doing so."
T.S. Murphy has contributed so much to Teaneck High School and its students, and now extends those contributions to the Players Guild of Leonia audiences. One could only imagine what a dinner conversation with Murphy and Shaw would be like – but I suspect Murphy would hold his own and Shaw might walk away with a different perspective.
Don’t miss Mr. Murphy in Deathtrap, playing at Players Guild of Leonia now through February 4th. Tickets available at https://www.leoniaplayers.org/
