About Mrs. Barber and EHS Theatre

This is my 12th year teaching Theatre at Eastside, and my 28th year in the classroom.  

I currently serve as Eastside's Fine Arts Department Chair.

On top of being able to teach at the BEST High School in the country (Eastside!), I had the honor of being selected as Eastside's Teacher of the Year for the 2017-18 school year.   To be recognized in this way by such an excellent staff and group of colleagues is something I will always hold as one of my greatest honors.  I truly love my job and my Eastside family! 

I have been married for 36 years, and have two sons, ages 32 and 28. Both of my sons graduated from Eastside and both played baseball here and in college. I love to read and travel, and enjoy music, the beach, and lake life!  I graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Houston, and I recently earned my Master of Science  degree in Curriculum and Instruction. 

Eastside did not have a true Theatre program when I came here in 2012-13.  There were only a few Drama 1 classes that were taught in a classroom, with little to no activities on the stage, and no plays or musicals had been produced for some years.  I rolled up my sleeves, and with the help of many parents, students, colleagues, and community members, created the thriving program that we have today. We now offer Theatre 1 through Honors Theatre 8, and we also have a thriving Technical Theatre program with four levels of courses.  Technical Theatre students have amassed over $100,000 in college scholarships since we began the course a few years ago! 

We have a large, active Troupe with the International Thespian Society, the honors society for Theatre students.  Our productions in the past 11 years include The Giver, Miracle on 34th Street, Grease, Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, 12th Night, Hamlet, Hairspray, A Midsummer Night's Dream, High School Musical, The Crucible, Mamma Mia and various other plays and muical revues.  Our Honors students have earned several Superior Awards for both One Act performances and Individual Events at adjudicated festivals. We also travelled to Disney World and participated in a storytelling event there with Eastside's band.

I am so excited that our program has grown to a point that we now have a second full-time Theatre teacher! Miss Natalie Beaulieu comes to us from Ohio and has been a phenomenal addition to our Theatre family here at Eastside.  Please go to her website to read all about her interesting and exciting experiences.  She is already an integral and invaluable part of our Theatre program at Eastside!