{"id":26039,"date":"2024-08-21T17:46:18","date_gmt":"2024-08-21T23:46:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/colorado-theater-teacher-of-year-sandner-talks-about-early-years-cortezs-support\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T23:32:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T05:32:50","slug":"colorado-theater-teacher-of-year-sandner-talks-about-early-years-cortezs-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/colorado-theater-teacher-of-year-sandner-talks-about-early-years-cortezs-support\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado Theater Teacher of Year Sandner talks about early years, Cortez\u2019s support"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"During
During a rehearsal in 2019, drama director Nicholaus Sandner coaches Jadon Cruzan and Madison Sitton, the main characters in Montezuma-Cortez High School\u2019s production of \u201cThe Music Man.\u201d (The Journal file)<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Montezuma-Cortez High School theater director Nicholaus Sandner has been named the Colorado Theater Teacher of the Year by Colorado Thespians.<\/p>\n

Sandner, who grew up in Durango, attended Fort Lewis College as a music major. His theater experience came from Durango Lively Arts and Durango High School before his time at the M-CHS.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was involved in community theater since about sixth grade with a company called Durango Lively Arts, and then I went to Durango High School and was in the theater program there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

After he graduated from FLC, he began doing music directing for kids\u2019 shows with Durango Lively Arts before getting into directing shows with adults and small cast shows. Sandner was planning to become an English teacher in Durango until he got the call that brought him to Cortez in 2011.<\/p>\n

He said the call was from the first director he ever worked with as a child, Jenny Fitts Reynolds, who asked him if she could give his name as a potential candidate for the theater program in Cortez, as she was unable to continue in the position.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got the call right before the teacher day started, I came over to Cortez to be interviewed and started the very next day,\u201d Sandner said. \u201cI had figured I was going to be an English teacher or something like that. I got my certification in teaching English and then I got the job doing theater over here and I\u2019ve loved it ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Montezuma-Cortez
Montezuma-Cortez High School drama students Gavin Taylor as Professor Bhaer and Liv Story as Jo, rehearse for their performance of \u201cLittle Women\u201d in 2018. (The Journal file)<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
The early, building years<\/div>\n

At first, Sandner said, it was a challenge to get students on board and to trust him as a new teacher, but it wasn\u2019t long before the numbers of students who wanted to participate in the program grew so much they had to figure out where to fit everyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a group of kids that wanted to be part of it and who started to spread the word,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople started to see the quality of the productions we were doing and they got excited, and pretty soon the numbers were up.\u201d<\/p>\n

A challenge the program still faces is finding resources to use in a rural community, but Sandner said this challenge has also presented the opportunity for the theater program to be more creative.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to be creative sometimes. When we did the musical \u2018Little Women,\u2019 we made the skirts, which are huge ballgowns from the Civil War era, and we couldn\u2019t find fabric to purchase here that was wide enough,\u201d he said. \u201cWe ended up using bed sheets that we found at Walmart that had patterns that would fit well enough. So sometimes it\u2019s thinking outside of the box to be able to make do with the resources we have.\u201d<\/p>\n

The first musical Sandner directed in his role at M-CHS was \u201cSeussical the Musical,\u201d and the first play was the comedy \u201cThe Foreigner.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom there, we started adding in more Shakespeare, which was really fun. We did the Scottish play, which I\u2019m not supposed to say in the performance space \u2026 bad luck,\u201d he said about the performance of Shakespeare\u2019s \u201cMacbeth.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the theater program performed \u201cMacbeth,\u201d it was done in black and white.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe actually did it in black and white, in the style of a film noir or an old detective movie,\u201d he said. \u201cWe painted everybody using airbrushes in black and white, and then as the murders were done, we\u2019d have red introduced for blood.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Montezuma-Cortez
Montezuma-Cortez High School students participate in an improv workshop put on by the Utah Shakespeare Festival touring group in 2015. The Shakespeare-in-the-Schools group presented \u201cMacBeth\u201d at the high school later that night. (The Journal file)<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
The benefits of a small, supportive town<\/div>\n

Looking back on the years working in the district, Sandner said a can-do attitude and community support have stood out in Cortez. He prefers being in a rural community.<\/p>\n

\u201cI honestly prefer being in a community that has a limit on resources, because I think it encourages greater creativity,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I could just go to a store and buy something, then I don\u2019t have to think about how I could create that. I\u2019ve always loved the huge community support and the huge support of the people that I work with, and the students, too. They are so excited about jumping in and trying new things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Lily
Lily Sandner and Piper Singleton play \u201cMilky-White\u201d the cow and Ellai Black is \u201cJack\u201d at the Cortez Middle School\u2019s premiere of \u201cInto the Woods, Jr.\u201d (The Journal file)<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Liam
Liam and Jonathan Sandner race to see who can knock over all the water bottles at the Montezuma-Cortez High School drama department\u2019s Earth Day Carnival in 2016. (Sam Green\/The Journal file)<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
The Sandner family legacy<\/div>\n

Theater has become a legacy in Sandner\u2019s household as well, with his daughter, Lily, who graduated from M-CHS this spring, participating in theater and choir before her graduation.<\/p>\n

Now, his sons are taking up the theater and music torch. Three of Sandner\u2019s sons, Jonathan (junior), Brian (sophomore) and Toby are participating in the high school and middle school theater programs, and his son, Liam, while not into theater, is a drum player in the middle school band.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrian is really good at puppet-building and special effects. He is also into videography, so it will be fun to see what sorts of things he can bring to the table,\u201d Sandner said. \u201cJonathan is a great organizer \u2026 he\u2019s a really good singer and dancer so he\u2019s good at bringing a lot to the table, too. I think I\u2019ll see him in more leadership sort of roles in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sandner\u2019s youngest son, Toby, is auditioning for his first play in the middle school, and his wife is \u201ca huge part of everything,\u201d as the lead scenic painter and co-designer in the program.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Montezuma-Cortez High School Drama Department released its radio performance of the classic drama \u201cThe Shadow\u201d during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. (Courtesy of Nicholaus Sandner)<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
A look to the future, a nod to the past<\/div>\n

Sandner said he dreams of Cortez having its own performing arts complex that holds community theater plays, concerts, other performing arts and exhibits.<\/p>\n

In the school, he said his goal for the future is to keep students engaged and active in a culture that is device driven.<\/p>\n

He also acknowledged the honor of being named the Colorado Theater Teacher of the Year, saying that many times, people they meet at thespian-type events don\u2019t know where Cortez is.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s cool to be recognized at a state level \u2026 that\u2019s the most common thing we get is, \u2018Where\u2019s that?\u2019\u201d Sandner said. \u201cIt\u2019s great for the Colorado Thespians, the Denver branch, to be noticing what we have down here and noticing the cool things that we\u2019re doing in this corner of the state that they don\u2019t even know exists.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he wanted to thank the community, the people who have supported and volunteered, as well as his co-teachers Angela Gabardi, who nominated him for the award, and Marla Sitton.<\/p>\n

He will accept his award next month in Denver.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very proud of Nick, who is a true asset to our school and community.\u00a0He is a fantastic theater director that the kids are so lucky to have,\u201d said high school Principal Jennifer Boniface. \u201cHis program is very successful and gives many of our students and members of the community the creative outlet that they need.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Montezuma-Cortez director is nominated by teacher, district members<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26040,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-26039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26039"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26039\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79200,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26039\/revisions\/79200"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26039"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=26039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}