Burbank High production of ‘The 39 Steps’ marks debut of new theater director

When students at Burbank High take the stage for their first performance of the mystery/comedy “The 39 Steps” this weekend, Burbank High’s new drama teacher Annie Terry will also make her debut as the school’s new theater director.

Terry comes to Burbank High after working 17 years in the Beverly Hills Unified School District.

Early in her career, she was a staff member in that district’s theater program and realized she loved being around students. So, she decided to earn her teaching credential.

“I came to discover that, actually, the best part of my day was working with the kids,” she said. “Young people give me life.”

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Drama director Annie Terry directs the cast and crew through her vision for the curtain call at rehearsal for the upcoming performance 39 Steps at Burbank High School on Tuesday, October 11, 2016. Terry is the new drama director at the high school.

(Tim Berger / Burbank Leader)

When Terry lived in Burbank several years ago, she became familiar with the district’s focus on the performing arts, and the reputation of the theater programs at Burbank and Burroughs high schools, which made her all the more excited to join the staff at Burbank High as a drama teacher when the opportunity arose.

Terry now resides in Glendale with her husband and their three children.

Among her first tasks at Burbank High after starting in August was selecting “The 39 Steps” for her students to perform this fall.

A “fast-paced whodunit,” she said, the play follows a man who, bored with his life, meets a woman who tells him she’s a spy. When she’s murdered soon after, a mysterious group called “The 39 Steps” is on the man’s trail.

“I wanted to choose a comedy as my first show because I felt it would serve everybody well as we all got to know each other,” she said.

The play opened on Broadway in 2008, and originally had four cast members who played multiple characters, but Burbank High’s version has 30 students, all of whom have a part to play and came up with ideas to make the play “that much funnier than even what’s in the script,” she said.

In addition to the actors, a crew of 20 students will manage a “technically difficult” show as they coordinate the props, sound and lights.

“Everybody’s gotten to have a hand in creating the magic,” she said. “It will be a very entertaining night for all involved.”

Performances will be at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday in the Wolfson Auditorium at Burbank High, 902 N. Third St. General admission tickets cost $10.

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Kelly Corrigan, kelly.corrigan@latimes.com

Twitter: @kellymcorrigan

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