Steward Savage’s journey to theater

The lights start to dim and the chatter of the crowd grows quiet. The actors enter from the wings and perform until the curtain closes. Steward Savage, the theater teacher at CVHS, is the guiding force that puts together the CVHS theater productions.

Theater has been a powerful and constant presence in Savage’s life and has been with him through all his life challenges. One play in particular has impacted Savage’s life a lot: Octavio Solis’s play “Lydia.”

“I was in grad school and my grandfather had just passed away. [“Lydia”] was a connection between family and death and how to process things. when I was in New Haven and my family was in Houston,” Savage said.

In addition to “Lydia,” Savage also has other favorite plays like “When the Rain Stops Falling” by Andrew Bovell. Savage believes it is “one of the best plays written in the last 50 years.” Savage’s passion for theater also extends to CVHS theater shows, which have impacted Savage’s life because of the lessons he learns from young thespians. One valuable lesson that CVHS students have taught him is resilience.

“There’s a nice resiliency that I see. It’s passive learning, because kids aren’t aware that they’re teaching it,” Savage said.

Flexibility is a vital trait Savage possesses, especially as he navigates his busy schedule. Savage gets up early and works on Zoom calls with many different people. Savage works with people in Spain, Taiwan and Latvia on different productions. While he primarily spends his days teaching and rehearsing at CVHS, he also finds time to works on local productions as well.

“I feel like I have a typical CVHS [student] schedule with three hours of sleep at night. I understand that aspect of CVHS kids,” Savage said.

Savage’s busy schedule is attributed to all the work he does outside of school. Over the years, Savage has worked with many well known artists like J.Cole and Tyler, The Creator before they gained their fame. Recently, Savage worked with Tyler, The Creator on his recent Chromakopia tour .

“Recently, I was drafting Tyler’s Chromakopia set,” Savage said.

In addition to his musical connections, Savage has been to many events and met many people along the way. He has been to the Tony awards and has encountered celebrities like Meryl Streep at Yale alumni parties. Despite his busy life, Savage still makes it a priority to spend time with the CVHS thespians.

“UIL State for the first time was definitely a core memory,” Savage said.

Travelling with a small group of kids to UIL competitions creates a strong sense of family within the group. They get up early and work hard. Despite the early mornings and the hard work, the experience bonds them in a unique way.

“We didn’t have a trailer; we had nothing. All these schools had big trailers and buses, yet we won state that year,” Savage reflected.

For Savage, theater is more than just performing for people — it is about building communities and bringing people together.

“There’s so much more in the entertainment industry that people are not aware of,” Savage said.