Joe Sykes discovers new paths as he transitions from working actor to drama teacher at Northview

Photos by Banee Chadha, Staff Writer.

Anya Biswas, Staff Writer

Northview welcomes its new drama teacher, Joe Sykes, a prominent actor who introduces new ideas into theater education. KJ Felicien, a sophomore taking Advanced Drama, observed Sykes’ commitment to his students and appreciates the new plans Sykes brings to the classroom.

“As he's a new teacher, he's very innovative and most of his ideas are very creative,” Felicien said. “We did some jumping activities to show jumping in unison. It was supposed to teach us about how to be all like think together as an ensemble.”

Sykes believes that theater provides students with more opportunities to grow and helps to widen their worldviews. During class, he encourages his students to share their voices and gain more confidence.

“Essentially I want to give opportunities for kids to tell their stories and for kids to listen to their peers’ stories,” Sykes said. “I want everyone's voice, literally and figuratively, to grow.”

While this was not the original path that Sykes originally imagined for himself, he has learned to embrace his calling. Sykes participated in his very first play for his church at ten years old. In high school, he acted in “Much Ado About Nothing” and the “Jesus Christ Superstar” musical. Later, Sykes chose to study at the University of Georgia because he felt that the people, architecture, and weather were appealing. Initially, he applied as undecided, but after his resident assistant encouraged him to audition for a production, he discovered his passion for acting and became a theater major.

“As an actor, I believe my job was to make audience members feel less alone,” Sykes said. “It takes the medium and the people who look at it, whether it's a painting or a piece of music, sequences of dance moves, it causes the audience members to feel like there's someone else out there. I think theater does it the best.”

After graduating, Sykes continued to act in plays and participated in an internship called Actor’s Express. There, he was in charge of creating the entire theater function— he built the set, ran the lights, and organized the crew. Additionally, he connected with a theater company called Out of Hand, which focused on ensemble-based work. Steve Yockey, now a successful playwright and screenwriter, became friends with Sykes and asked him to perform in several of Yockey’s plays. Sykes believes that networking is an essential skill because it allowed him to expand his opportunities and act in a variety of productions.

“You want to get to know everybody because every connection you have leads to more work or more experiences that prove you as a person,” Sykes said.

Early in 2020, Sykes moved in with his parents after going through a rough breakup and decided to rethink his life. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were very few acting jobs and opportunities for actors to seek. As such, Sykes returned to college to pursue a master’s degree in Theater Education at Columbus State University.

“I thought teaching would be the best next step to help young actors take on the values that I have, so they can help spread the word,” Sykes said. “The benefits of telling your story and listening to others so we can learn from each other and work together.”

Syke’s teaching has positively impacted many of his students. Angie Casal, a senior taking two classes with Sykes, Advanced Drama and Technical Theatre, has several roles in both of the upcoming school plays. Casal describes her appreciation for Sykes’ openness to different design choices.

“He's making us learn different principles of controlling our body movements and things like that to incorporate that into acting,” Casal said.

Outside of class, Sykes sponsors the Improv Club. Moreover, he is directing Northview’s play,  “Much Ado About Nothing.” Sykes performed this play when he was in high school and is very familiar with it. Though directing it will be a challenging task, Sykes looks forward to the experience. 

“I'm looking forward to watching the kids grow. I have a freshman in a class who is very young and I'm looking forward to four years from now when he's a senior and a strong actor,” Sykes said. “I'm looking forward to increasing everyone's ability to tell a story.”