Page 38 - The Hunt - Winter 2019/2020

Bruce Chipman graduated from the retirement announcement. “It all comes from theater,” Bell says. “We had a tremendous
University of Virginia in 1968 with
a B.A. in English. He came to Tatnall five years later, after teaching for three
at Tufts University, where he’d earned his master’s and doctorate degrees. In addition to his time in the classroom, in the theater and on the fields, Chipman has been an adjunct professor at the University of Delaware.
Showcase has always been more than a side project for Chipman. It’s a way to connect with students away from the traditional classroom constricts. Participants meet
after school hours and on weekends, and Chipman’s collaborative approach empowers students to solve many of the problems that arise, allowing him to build relationships that last years and sometimes decades. Thirty years later, he still refers to those who performed and worked on the crew as “my kids.” “One thing that has come out in all the wonderful emails I’ve received from kids is that they
all mention togetherness and community,” Chipman says of the responses so far to his
the fact that we’re a single community.” As always, “the show is the thing.” But
those who’ve worked with Chipman take away much more. Scott Bell graduated from Tatnall in 1987 and has spent the last 25 years as an accountant for various federal government agencies, including the Treasury Department. His senior year at Tatnall, he played several roles in a Showcase production of The Good Doctor. “A lot of what I do now involves speaking in front of large groups of people or in a meeting setting, and I draw on my experience with Bruce and the Showcase program,” Bell says. “They provided me with the fundamentals and foundation and confidence.”
Bell describes Chipman’s teaching style as a mix of entertainment and education, counting him as a mentor and a close friend. “He’s one of the most free-thinking people I know,” Bell says.
Bell participated in Showcase for only one year, but it was enough to revel in the collaborative effort Chipman fostered. “It was as much a collegial experience as it was
amount of autonomy. Dr. Chipman was still the director, but he valued what we thought. We were encouraged to express our opinions about how to present a certain scene. Bruce was very open to working with us.”
That culture of collaboration has continued through four decades. A sophomore at
Boston College, Molly Soja spent three years in Showcase—the first two as an actor and
the third as stage manager. As a freshman in college, she took a course in stage management for those interested in handling that job on campus. “I felt I was so prepared, and I knew everything the course covered,” she says.
Soja also had Chipman for AP Literature, and though she describes herself as “a math and science person,” the course was her favorite at Tatnall. “Disappointing Dr. Chipman was one of the scariest things on the planet,” she says. “Not because he gets mad— it’s just that you respect him so much.”
As for the other adults in the room, Chipman’s wife, Robin, handles makeup and
Tower Hill School
Celebrating 100 Years of Excellence 1919-2019
open house | thursday, dec. 5, 9 a.m.
Tours available year-round. Register at 302-657-8350 or towerhill.org/openhouse
36 THE HUNT MAGAZINE winter 2019-20