James Trombka, an access advisor in Kent State University’s Student Accessibility Services (SAS), made his directorial debut in December 2023 at Tallmadge Dynamics Community Theater.
Trombka is a theater fan. He has theater decorations in his office and enjoys talking with students interested in theater about their favorite shows. It is hard for him to pick favorites as he likes shows for different reasons, but “& Juliet,” “Hamilton,” “Beetlejuice,” and “Mean Girls” are at the top of his list.
He is a Kent State alumnus who graduated with a bachelor of science in education in middle childhood education with a social studies and language arts concentration and a minor in theatre performance.
He arrived on the Kent Campus as an exploratory student because he did not know what he wanted to study. Since he received resources and support while pursuing his degree, he enjoys helping students who are in similar situations.
“I hope to be that resource for folks, or even at the very least, be a friendly face they can chat and connect with,” he said.
Trombka joined the SAS team in December 2021. His main responsibility in the office is to meet with students who have disabilities and help them get accommodation. He also troubleshoots if students have problems with their accommodation and oversees social media and communications efforts for the office.
As an education student, he got excited when he tutored someone and saw a breakthrough happen. In his current position at Kent State, he enjoys working with students and celebrating with them through victories and successes. With his directing work, he is thrilled by seeing actors perform to the best of their abilities and reach new levels.
Trombka made connections with the Tallmadge Dynamics Community Theater while performing in their “Get Smart” production in early 2023. The theater company asked him and his fellow cast member, Hope Bolinger, one of his best friends, to co-direct their next show.
“It was fun to collaborate with someone that I know and start to see all those nitty-gritty processes behind the scenes, like working with the lighting designers, tech designers, production team and making the entire show come alive,” he said.
He has performed in theater productions and is a member of a touring improv group called Scriptless in Seattle. Still, his inaugural directing work made him respect directors more than he previously did.
“Even if you’re an actor, you don’t realize all of the work that the director puts in until you are in that role,” he said. Trombka felt a “full circle moment” once he shared the theater acting skills he had learned with other people.
Around August 2023, he had one month to plan with Bolinger how to bring to life “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” a play written by Barbara Robinson based on the bestselling young adult book by the same author published in 1972.
“I read it as a kid. It has a good message and a lot of deep layers,” Trombka said. “That’s what I love about kids’ stories. A lot of times, there are cool themes that speak to a middle school kid, an adult, someone who’s older, and everyone in between.”
After marking up the script, starting to plan the stage’s appearance, blocking where the actors would be on stage, and hosting auditions, Trombka and Bolinger had two and a half months to prepare the show for opening day.
Trombka said the play had a lot of different roles, with 25 speaking roles in the 40-member show. “It was fun to work individually with each of those characters to develop who they are as a person,” he said.
He remembers fondly a moment where, even before they had an audience, the cast members clapped and cheered for each other at the end of a tech rehearsal day to celebrate one another.
The show had record ticket sales on both nights. Trombka spent those nights in a booth assisting with tech cues.
“A lot of directors are probably backstage running around making sure everything is good to go, but I had the honor of seeing them perform,” he said. “They were always amazing in rehearsal, but they just took it to the next level and delivered a wonderful story for the audience.”
People close to Trombka tell him he is one of the busiest people they know. Before deciding to direct a theater play, he was a graduate student in the master’s in business administration program at Kent State. He paused his classes while directing the play to balance his life.
He is thankful for his supervisor and coworkers at SAS because he knows they will always be there to support him.
“It’s good knowing that you have folks in your life who cheer you on and support you,” Trombka said. “Many of my coworkers came to see my show, so getting to see their support and chatting with them about how it was going was uplifting.”