Southmoreland graduate earns doctorate as a theatre professor
Kaelei Whitlatch
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Dr. John Paul “JP” Staszel didn’t find his way to the stage until college, but he recently earned his doctorate in theatre and film. A 1997 graduate of Southmoreland, he is now a professor at California University of Pennsylvania (Cal U).
Dr. Staszel described his high school experience as “fun, exciting, scary, challenging, busy, exhausting, and annoying,” depending on the year.
“I was in chorus (in high school),” Dr. Staszel said. “But I spent most of my time on the basketball court or in the gym developing my physique and athleticism.”
Little did he know what direction his career would go in the following years after high school.
After transferring from Westmoreland County Community College to Cal U, he majored in theatre and business finance and earned his degrees in 2003, later earning his masters in business in 2005. Dr. Staszel earned his masters in theatre from Bowling Green State University (BGSU) in 2009, then completed two graduate certificates in performance studies and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies in 2015. This year, he has earned his doctorate in theatre and film.
Dr. Staszel currently serves as a theatre professor at Cal U, teaching introduction to theatre, acting, history, physical theatre, creative dramatics, modern drama.
Southmoreland graduate of 2016 and professional Golf management major Lindsey Pritts took introduction to theatre her first semester.
“(Dr. Staszel) is very talented and involved in what he teaches,” Pritts said. “He made class a lot of fun by acting so crazy most of the time, and he was easy to talk to if you had any questions. Even though I’m not majoring in it, I like theatre, so it was pretty fun for me. But even if I didn’t, I feel like the class still would have been a lot of fun. He was so extemporaneous about everything and made it easy to understand, but it was exciting at the same time.”
Dr. Staszel said that he developed this “dream” of being a professor early in his college experience.
“I knew that I always wanted to be around knowledge and people that wanted to learn and have new experiences,” Dr. Staszel said.
Dr. Staszel encourages those considering to major in theatre.
“Theatre is such a wonderful and diverse field to study. Theatre is more than just acting. It is a field that prepares you for the entertainment industry,” Dr. Staszel said. “Theatre and entertainment will always be in need of talented and dedicated artists and technicians. Entertainment is an industry that will always exist. Whether its theatre, film, television, (or) sports entertainment, people are always going to want entertainment. They are going to need those individuals that have specialized their career in entertainment.”
He also encourages those majoring in theatre to choose Cal U.
“If you study with us at Cal U, you focus on acting, directing, costume design, light design, scenic design, makeup design, house, box office, or stage management, public relations and marketing,” Dr. Staszel said. “We prepare you to be employed in the entertainment fields and work to develop your skills for you to succeed in what you want to do in your future.”
Dr. Staszel has played many roles throughout his theatre life, but there is one role that shines above them all: himself.
“I always fall in love with some aspect of any show that I am working on. It would be impossible to pick just one,” Dr. Staszel said. “But if I had to pick just one, it would be playing the role of JP as a dad and a teacher. I love watching my son grow and learn, and I love watching my students make discoveries.”
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