As a varsity football player at Whitesboro High School in 2017, Tony Morrell wasn’t interested in theater.
He joined choir because he needed a Fine Arts credit, but he never could have imagined that he would eventually become an acting major – let alone the new Theater Director at Whitesboro Middle and High Schools.
But life is funny that way. After an injury kept him from playing sports, then-theater teacher Tonya Harper convinced Morrell to help out with the school’s One Act Play. One of the crew members had left the group, and the team was in a bind. Morrell, who had participated in (and, surprisingly, enjoyed) a summer of community theater at the behest of his mother, agreed to help out.
Later, a more serious football injury resulted in shoulder surgery. Morrell, who had been working on a nomination for the naval academy, found himself medically unqualified for the pursuit. That’s when he began the transition to acting.
Morrell became more involved in the theater department, taking Harper’s Theater I class and auditioning for some productions. He was cast as one of the leads in the school’s One Act Play and won some awards. Family friends put him in touch with Dean Nolen, Associate Professor of Acting at the School of Theater and Dance at Texas Tech University.
Nolen offered Morrell (one of six students) a scholarship, and that’s how Morrell came to earn his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in acting.
“I came to love the people and the productions,” Morrell said. “I got to work on some really meaningful stuff.”
After earning his degree, Morrell had several options, including moving to New York to pursue an acting career or staying in the Dallas area. He ultimately chose to stay in Dallas, where he planned to work for a couple of years and save some money before heading out to New York. Since then, he’s appeared in national television commercials and professional regional theater productions.
After moving back home to Whitesboro, Morrell began to consider his next steps.
“I wondered what was next. It was time to figure out this new season of life,” Morrell said.
He began receiving teaching opportunities, which he had never really considered but found himself praying over. He felt a calling to teach and, in March, enrolled in an alternate certification program. Morrell reconnected with his former theater teacher, mentor and “second mom” Harper (who has recently been promoted to Whitesboro’s Fine Arts Coordinator) to gain more insight about this career path.
“I applied for a few teaching jobs, but for various reasons, they just weren’t a good fit, and I wound up turning them down,” Morrell said. “The most recent opportunity fell through due to budget cuts, and I was feeling pretty down about it.”
Then Morrell got a call from Harper that would change his trajectory. Whitesboro’s theater teacher, who served other roles at the school, was spread too thin and had stepped down from the position. Harper was trying to find a replacement and asked Morrell to apply for the job.
Just days after the interview, Morrell was offered the position.
“Theater is where my heart’s at,” Morrell said. “The opportunity to come back here [to Whitesboro] was way too special.”
Morrell is excited to help rebuild the theater program that Harper had started back when Morrell was her student.
“Back then, the students ran the program,” Morrell said. “We had so much confidence in Harper that we were willing to do anything she asked of us.”
Morrell is excited to have three new Fine Arts members at the school this year. His hiring comes just after the announcement of new band director Jesse Speer and new choir director Amber Speer.
“We can make a Fine Arts department that’s more like a family,” Morrell said. “We can really support each other and be more inclusive with our programs. We’re a 3-A school. It takes everyone to run everything.”
Morrell, who will work at both the Middle and High School campuses, has several goals for the coming year. First, he wants to bump up the numbers of theater students at the Middle School. Next, he would like to bring back a kids’ program that includes younger students in the upper-level productions.
His long-term goal and big dream is for the theater department to partner with band and choir to create more inclusive programs that involve more students.
This year’s theater students can expect a fall show at the high school, a Middle School One Act Play, a High School One Act Play (with community performance in the spring), and hopefully the return of the Coffee House performances, variety show fundraisers that provide performance opportunities for all Fine Arts students.
In addition to teaching under the guidance of his mentor, Morrell is excited to bring his educational and professional connections to his students to help broaden their horizons and increase their opportunities.
“Theater is more than acting,” Morrell said. “There are master electricians, entertainment lawyers – if someone loves theater but sees themselves at a trade school, there are ways to combine the two. I love this community and I want to bring opportunity here.”
Although Morrell will continue to maintain representation with the Campbell Agency and continue his acting career, his students will always come first.
“I’m excited for the theater department to become part of the winning tradition that Coach Fagan has created with athletics and like we’ve seen with the state champion band,” Morrell said.
“Whitesboro is filled with traditions of excellence, and I’m excited to be part of it.”