Tom Behm Papers

Tom Behm, theatre director, actor, university educator, and playwright, was raised in Wheeling, Illinois, a small town outside Chicago. He was involved with theatre since childhood and his parents regularly took him to Chicago to see Broadway musicals and other shows. He attended summer camp at Camp Towering Pines in Eagle River in Northern Wisconsin, where he participated in drama activities as a child, and eventually became a counselor directing plays with children. He returned there regularly each summer until he was hired at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG).

He received his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University in 1962. White there, he took no classes in theatre for youth. Following graduation, he worked at the Post Office to earn money for graduate school.

He decided to attend the University of Kansas (KU) to obtain his masters degree after reading an article in Life magazine that described its international theatre emphasis. It was here that his interest in a career in theatre for youth was realized. During his first semester, he worked on the crew for Beauty and the Beast, which was directed by Bill Birner. Jed Davis taught his children's theatre and creative drama classes. Behm credits Davis with opening his eyes to the wonders and challenges of theatre for youth. A directing class with Lewin Goff helped him hone his skills and realize his love for directing. Although Behm was never cast in any of the Theatre for Young People productions, he did play supporting roles in A Man for All Seasons, Mother Courage and The Corn is Green. Davis directed his thesis, which included interviews with children about the scenic design for The King of the Golden River.

In 1968, at age 28, he applied for a teaching position at UNCG. In 1962, Herman Middleton, UNCG Theatre Chairman, and women from the Greensboro Junior League had started a children's theatre program called The Pixie Playhouse in Greensboro. Behm was invited to join the UNCG faculty as Director of this Playhouse. His first show was Aurand Harris Androcles and the Lion. During his tenure at UNCG, Behm expanded this program by adding a touring theatre with three shows per year. He also developed BFA in Theatre Education and MFA in Theatre for Youth programs and served as Chair of the Theatre Department.

Eventually The Pixie Playhouse became the North Carolina Theatre for Young People (NCTYP), a professional company, performing mostly for early elementary school students, with Behm as Artistic Director. Students participated as directors, stage managers, designers and actors, together with professional actors. In the early years, the theatre produced ten Aurand Harris, five Moses Goldberg, four Suzan Zeder and three Paper Bag Players plays, some multiple times so new generations of child audiences could appreciate them. As the dramatic canon for the field matured, Behm produced new plays, such as The Yellow Boat and The Code Breaker. Behm also directed main stage shows, which included Cabaret, Our Town and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. During Behm's UNCG tenure, he directed over fifty productions. His final show in fall 2001 was the musical, Peter Pan.

Behm was active in national theatre for youth organizations his entire life. He attended his first ATA (American Theatre Association) national convention in Chicago in 1964. He served as the President of CTAA (Children's Theatre Association of America), now known as AATE (American Alliance for Theatre and Education) from 1979-1981. He was a member of the Children's Theatre Foundation of America (CTFA) Board for over thirty years and, after Jed Davis retired, became their Treasurer from 1986-2007. Behm received CTFAs Medallion in 2007 for his lifetime contribution to theatre for young people.

As a member of ASSITEJ/USA, he attended the only ASSITEJ International Congress held in the United States in Albany, New York, in 1972. Inspired by what he saw, he wrote his first play, Tarheel Tales, which combined audience participation and story theatre. It was adapted from Appalachian folk stories and the Jack Tales. His second play, a musical comedy titled How Things Happen in Threes, includes audience participation. Both plays are published by Anchorage Press Plays.

His association with SETC (Southeastern Theatre Conference) began in 1969 after attending one of their conventions. He served as Chair of the Sara Spencer Award Committee for many years and Chair of the Children's Theatre Division in the 1970s. In 1991, he received the Sara Spencer Child Drama Award, given annually to an individual or organization for distinct achievement in child drama within the SETC Region. Over the years Tom also served as President of the North Carolina Theatre Conference, on the ATA Board and on the CTAA Definitions Committee.

After retiring from UNCG in 2002, he moved with his wife to Wilmington, North Carolina. He returned to acting for the first time since KU in shows, such as The Wizard of Oz and My Fair Lady at The Thalian Association Community Theatre, at the Opera House Theatre Company, at the Shakespeare on the Green and at the Rocking Chair Players. He volunteers as a docent at the Cameron Museum of Art, as a tour leader at the Bellamy Mansion, on the Thalian Association Board, and at the Lower Cape Fear Historic Society, Bookpals, and at Residents of Old Wilmington. He has taught a class in the Performance of Literature at UNC, Wilmington.