Hall of Fame: Coleman Peterson
Tea Area 2016 graduate Coleman Peterson was part of the first class of students to go from kindergarten through graduation all in the Tea Area School District.
Peterson, who was inducted into the district’s Hall of Fame during homecoming week, participated in many things that he recognizes likely would not have been possible if he grew up in a larger school district.
“That’s part of the reason I loved it so much is because my friends who I grew up with doing theatre things with had their big Sioux Falls high schools they kind of had to choose one or two activities to be involved in versus getting to grow up in Tea where everybody was supportive of that, probably because they needed to in order for the programs to be sizable enough to get something to happen,” he said.
He did all of the drama things - the musical, the play, the one-act play - plus band, choir, oral interp and student council.
“Pretty much anything I wanted to be involved with they kind of accommodated and supported which was a blessing,” Peterson said.
As a high school student, he wrote “Puberty: The Musical.” He recognizes that he definitely would not have been able to do that elsewhere.
“I think having staff who were open minded and saw potential in specific students and knew their students so thoroughly and what their capabilities were and maybe push them to create and give them a platform to do was super cool. Having Janice Gilbert’s support and trust in creating that and partnership to make it all happen probably would not have found that anywhere else,” he said. “It’s given me a lot more confidence in what I can create having done that in high school then you get to college you can elevate your craft to the next level and already have some of those firsts checked off your list.”
In college, they did a re-up of “Puberty: The Musical” through the student theatre with all college students. He directed the show and they had students build the set, costume design and lighting design. He also wrote a couple of mini musicals that were brought to life, along with other college theatre things.
After graduation, Peterson went to Augustana University and graduated with degrees in music, theatre and elementary education. Now living in Sioux Falls, he has been teaching third grade at Discovery Elementary for six years.
In addition to teaching, he also works at the Orpheum Theatre for the Spotlight Theatre Company where he’s directing “The Wizard of Oz.”
He was a student of the program, then called Dakota Academy Performing Arts. He interned there for a year and then got hired as a props and set constructor and stage manager. Then he worked up to a production director where he directs shows with about 65 kids throughout the school year, plus teaching summer camps and directing shows.
Peterson also spends his time acting as part of the Good Night Theatre Collective and the Premier Playhouse and Rock Island Studio. He recently directed “Legally Blonde: The Musical” and will direct “Rent” this spring.
The announcement that he was going to be inducted into the district’s Hall of Fame came as a surprise to Peterson who feels like that is a spot for legends.
“The people who are up on those pedestals for me are mostly by music educator. Mrs. Erickson who is up there this year and Mrs. Fylling (Nelson) and just those people who were the leaders from the very beginning of what I can remember being a student in Tea,” Peterson said. “They were just legendary at that time that this feels so fitting to honor them. I think it’s cool that you can interpret it in different ways.
“To hear that my presence in that community was impactful to different people is super special and I like that it says you can be honored in many different ways for many different things and I think that speaks to what my experience was like growing up in Tea is that you can be involved in so many different ways and pull your weight for the different aspects of the community that all come together to make that experience so great for the students,” he said.