Jed Broberg Oral History Interview

Oral history interview by Mary Heers with Jed Broberg. Topics include: Hi career at Ogden High School teaching English and Theater; Arsenic and Old Lace being his favorite school play to star in; 110 In the Shade being his favorite school musical; Hay Fever being his favorite play to direct; Enjoying letting his students take on stage design and choreography projects; The week leading up to show being exhausting; A history of teachers in his family; Earning degree in Acting/Directing and Secondary Education at Utah State University; His first job at a pizza parlor; Serving a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Marriage; Both he and his wife becoming teachers; His path to teaching at Ogden High School and really enjoying the faculty and students; An illness that required the removal of his colon

Mr. Jed Broberg is an award winning English and theater teacher at Ogden High School. He went to Utah State University and got his degrees in Acting and Directing, as well as Secondary Education. He talks about several jobs he held before becoming a teacher at Ogden High, and the opportunities he had at those jobs, and the things he learned. He talks about how much he loves and admires the faculty of Ogden High School.

The Way We Worked: Utah Works Oral History TRANSCRIPTION COVER SHEET Interviewee(s): Others present: Place of interview: Date of interview: Interviewer(s): Recordist: Photographer: Jed Broberg February 25, 2017 Mary Heers Recording equipment: Transcription equipment: NCH Express Scribe Transcription Software with Power Player foot pedal. Transcribed by/date: Susan Gross/10 August 2024 Transcript proofed by/date: Brief description of interview: Mr. Jed Broberg is an award winning English and theater teacher at Ogden High School. He went to Utah State University and got his degrees in Acting and Directing, as well as Secondary Education. He talks about several jobs he held before becoming a teacher at Ogden High, and the opportunities he had at those jobs, and the things he learned. He talks about how much he loves and admires the faculty of Ogden High School. References: MH: JB: Mary Heers Jed Broberg NOTE: Interjections during pauses, transitions in dialogue (such as “umm”), and false starts and stops in conversations are not included in transcribed. All additions to transcript noted with brackets. TRANSCRIPTION [00:01] MH: Okay, we’re just checking levels. JB: Okay. MH: So, we’ll just get your name, and where you live? JB: I’m Jed Broberg, and I live in Riverdale, Utah. MH: Okay. And how was the drive over here? JB: It was interesting; I thought it was going to be a straight, nice shot. And I guess there was an accident. There was a firetruck that blocked about at least a full lane, and police, and ambulance – just down the street. MH: Yeah, we heard it. [Laughs] THE WAY WE WORKED: UTAH WORKS: JED BROBERG 1 JB: Yeah, I’ll bet [laughs]. MH: I mean, it just was rocking the sound system. JB: Wow, wow; yeah. Yeah, so that was unexpected, and it kind of put me a little bit behind. MH: Yeah. Well, do you want to tell me about your job? [Laughs] JB: Sure. So, I work at Ogden High School; I teach (primarily) theater, but also have been teaching English. And in fact, when I was first hired there, I was hired to teach primarily English, and a couple of theater classes. And then the program just grew for theater. And so, now there’s really only room for a couple of English classes in my schedule. For a while I was teaching 11th grade English, and then the opportunity to teach 12th graders came along. And so, I took that. And it was interesting having the same kids for two years in a row [laughs] in English. But it was also nice, because I already knew what their capabilities were. And I was able to know also what their behaviors were, and what their tactics were, and how they dealt with me. And it kind of made it nice. And then with all the wonderful testing that goes on these days – that, along with how busy I have stayed as a drama teacher, my principal could tell I was getting very burned out, very quickly. [02:38] And so, we decided to create a new class that hadn’t been taught at Ogden High, called Literature and Film. And it would count as English credit, more as an elective or make-up credit for students that have not been as successful in their previous English classes, but still help get them on the road and track to graduation. And so, that’s the English part that I teach now. And I teach three different levels of theater, as well as technical theater. And I do musicals, and plays, and I stay very, very busy. MH: So, what’s your favorite? The theater? The technical – JB: Oh, definitely. Oh, goodness. Well, I love teaching theater. And I love directing the plays, and the musicals. And I have found a new love for teaching the technical side of theater. I was never – well, I never considered myself a designer, or a technical theater person until I just was thrown to the wolves, and had to do it. And really, I found a love for it. And I guess I’m pretty good at it too, because I’ve won a few awards for my designs. And so, that’s been fun. And it’s been fun really, also, handing those reins over to the students as well, and saying, “Let’s see how you do with this? How would you design this?” Or, “How would you construct this?” [04:38] MH: So, what is your favorite play? JB: In school – when I was in school, my favorite was Arsenic and Old Lace. And what I loved about it was the comradery that was built with the other students. I was brand new to the school that year, and the students just really took me in, as if I had been there all four years [laughs]. And of course, it’s a funny play, it’s a classic play. And I got to play Dr. Einstein. THE WAY WE WORKED: UTAH WORKS: JED BROBERG 2 And I got to play it again – well, sorry – I got to be in Arsenic and Old Lace again when I was acting for the Old Lyric Reparatory Company, in 2005. And I would say that my favorite play so far, in directing at the high school level – well, I have a favorite play, and I have a favorite musical. MH: Sure. JB: So, favorite musical so far is 110 In the Shade. It’s just such a beautiful story, written by the same people that wrote The Fantastics. And what was most memorable to me about it was that we got nominated for several awards for the Utah High School Musical Theater Awards. And very surprisingly to me, I won best director for that show. I had not anticipated ever winning that award, let alone winning it in my third year of teaching at Ogden High. I always thought these types of awards go to the real veteran teachers – [Chuckling] That have taught for 20-30 years. But was grateful that the committee that selected the awards recognized my talent. But what was even more special to me was that my students that I had brought on that year that were seniors (I had two girls): Sarah and Misty – and I asked them to choreograph. And they won for best choreography. And as a teacher, that just – it’s one of those really special moments where you see your students shine, and you see their full potential that you know they were always capable of. [07:55] And for best play [laughs] – or not best play, but favorite play – my favorite play to direct so far is actually one that I’m directing right now. MH: Oh. JB: With my students, which is Hay Fever, by Noël Coward. This is my first time directing a play, and teaching the students dialect at the same time. So, they’re learning standard British dialect, as well as two students learning a more Cockney dialect. And the joy that they are having in putting this together is just what makes it worth it [laughs]. Many of these students are so used to just being in musicals. And this is their first time doing just a straight play. And they’re finding the same joy in doing it that they find in doing musicals. And so, it’s wonderful to see them realize that there can be just as much joy in doing a regular play as there is in doing a musical. And that there is just much worth in it as well. MH: In a typical week, how many hours do you put in at Ogden High? JB: Wow. So, I would say a standard week, for me, has been 60-plus hours. In what we (affectionately) call “hell week:” getting ready to perform all the technical and dress rehearsals – those can be upwards of 80-plus hours. [09:55] MH: Exhausting. JB: Very exhausting. And after it’s over, very worth it. THE WAY WE WORKED: UTAH WORKS: JED BROBERG 3 [Laughter] MH: Did you always know that you wanted to be a teacher? JB: Well, so my grandfather was a teacher, both of my parents were teachers, all of my siblings have taught in some form or fashion; so, it has always been in my blood. I would say the first time I ever really thought about being a teacher was when I was in fifth grade. I had a wonderful fifth grade teacher, her name was Mrs. Foote. And she was just so inspiring. And if there’s one character that she’s ever reminded me of, it’s Miss Frizzle from The Magic School Bus. MH: [Laughs] JB: She just made learning magical, much like Miss Frizzle did. And I thought (back then), “Maybe this is something I want to do.” And I think that that kept – that flame kept [laughs] getting bigger, as I went on in the years through middle school and high school. And I believe the teachers that influenced the decision the most were my English teachers and theater teachers, and play directors, and musical directors. [12:02] And when I was a senior in high school, I think I had pretty much made up my mind that I wanted to teach. And for a very long time, I thought I wanted to just be an English teacher. But then by that year, I realized maybe there could be something to this teaching of theater. And so, I went to Utah State. And first, just got a degree in Acting and Directing, which I’m very grateful I did. Because I believe that it has made me a better theater teacher, because I got a lot more credit hours in, in learning how to act, and direct, and in theater history, and in theater literature that a lot of the regular Theater Ed majors didn’t get to have as much exposure to that. And so, then, after I got married, my wife and I went back to Utah State and got second degrees in Secondary Education, and became teachers, officially. MH: And where is your wife teaching? JB: My wife teaches at South Ogden Junior High. And she also teaches theater. She teaches a little bit of history, primarily Utah Studies. And she also does the yearbook, which bless her heart [laughs] – I don’t know if I could ever put that together myself. MH: Is that one of those 80-plus hours a week? JB: It can be, yes. It can be, especially when it’s crunch time in getting the final product to the printers. Yes. [14:00] MH: Did you have jobs as a kid? JB: My first job was my senior year of high school, working at Federico’s, in Logan, Utah. I started out washing dishes. And then, gradually, went to being a cashier, and then actually making the pizzas. And that was a lot of fun. THE WAY WE WORKED: UTAH WORKS: JED BROBERG 4 I would sing a lot when I would make the pizzas. And that would always entertain the rest of [laughs] the employees. And so – and I’d often take songs that were well known, and make new lyrics to them that had to do with pizza, and cheese, and all sorts of different things [laughs]. So, I think the lesson I learned there was you can always make any job fun if you really put your mind to it. MH: Could the customers hear? JB: I don’t think so, because they always had their juke box playing out there. Or if they could hear, that’s why they turned it on. [Laughter] MH: And your next job? JB: Well, let’s see. So, after that I – well, I served a mission in North Carolina, for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. When I came back, I got a job working at the Merrill Library on Utah State’s campus. And I worked there, as well as was a student, all the rest of my education at Utah State. And I had a lot of fun. I started out in the media part, which I really liked. But then went into stacks. And eventually, was in the Art Room, by the time I was completely done. And that was really, really great. I worked alone a lot with that one. But it also gave me a lot of alone time with these wonderful pieces of art, too, and art books to look through, and classical music to listen to. And really, just very calming. I thought, “Man, if I didn’t want to be a teacher, I think I would want to do this.” [Laughs] [16:45] And after I graduated, I actually worked at Discovery Gateway: the Children’s Museum of Utah. And working there for a year while my wife (who was my girlfriend, and then fiancé at the time) finished her degree at Utah State. I was able to work there, at the museum. And that was a really, really awesome experience, because it was right when they were first opening. And so, we went through a lot of training beforehand. And then it opened, and wow – I actually had – I held three different positions in one year there. I started out just as a floor worker. And then I – well, and as a floor worker, I was a floor lead for a little while. And then I became what they called “props master.” And my job was really to buy toys [laughs], which was really fun. I got to research, you know, what types of toys were educational, and what would be good for (and safe for) the museum. And had a very large budget. And just got to buy toys all day [laughs]. I also had to take care of the toys, as well. But that was quite a bit of fun. I felt like a child again when I was working there. And I ended as an administrative assistant in the – oh, my goodness; I can’t remember what department it was called now. But I reported directly to the executive director, at the time. And my job was to help find ways to bring in money for the museum, as well as to write thank-you letters to the people who had donated to the museum, and things like that. So, it was quite interesting, kind of moving up in the ranks that fast. And I really, really enjoyed that opportunity. THE WAY WE WORKED: UTAH WORKS: JED BROBERG 5 [19:32] MH: How hard did they have to twist your arm to get you to give up buying toys? JB: Oh, they didn’t have to twist my arm too much; but I did miss it [laughs] quite a bit. It was – the funner part of the job of being the props master, of course, was buying the toys. MH: Do they still sell some of those toys at the shop? JB: Well, that was actually somebody else’s job, was to buy toys that they sell. My job was to buy the toys that they play with. And so, I think that many of those toys are still there. And I think that they’ve obviously improved quite a bit [laughs] on what I started. Yeah. MH: Is there something you wished you’d done differently in choosing your career? If you could go back, would you change anything? JB: Wow, what a question. I think in some ways there’s part of me that wishes I had started it slightly earlier, and maybe not taken that year to work at Discovery Gateway, and things like that. And yet, at the same time, I can’t imagine what life would be like without knowing those people and working with them, and getting the experience and knowledge that I gained in that year of employment. I don’t know that I would change that. [21:35] MH: Did I skip any chronology? You went from the Discovery – JB: So, from Discovery Gateway, that’s when my wife and I went back and got our degrees in Secondary Education. I was hired to teach at Preston High for a year, in the middle of getting that Secondary Ed degree. So, I didn’t do the regular route of student teaching; I was hired as what they call an intern. So, I did an internship instead, and was sort of on my own, figuring things out with people that came in from Utah State to observe, as well as a teacher there that was my mentor, and did observations on me that way. But what a unique, wonderful experience. It was part time. And at the time, Preston was going through some issues with staffing, and they needed a cutback. And we were informed that part-time employees would be cut first. So, I started looking for a job. I mean, I wasn’t told directly, “We’re getting rid of you.” But [laughs] I started looking for another job, and was hired to teach at North Ogden Junior High for – I taught there for a year. And I quickly found out that junior high is not the level for me. And I think the people who can teach junior high level are saints. I tell my wife that constantly, that she is a real saint. And she realizes that. And I think that’s why she sticks with it, is she knows exactly what it takes to work with that age level. [23:50] And I think in high school, I had always envisioned myself teaching older students – whether that was high school, or college; I thought, “That’s what I want to teach.” Although, back in the fifth grade, with Mrs. Foote, I thought I wanted to teach fifth grade. [Laughter] THE WAY WE WORKED: UTAH WORKS: JED BROBERG 6 So, and then since I didn’t want to stay at the junior high level, I got looking around for other things. At the time, there wasn’t a big demand for either English teachers, or theater teachers; at least not in the Salt Lake and Ogden area. I had interviews for small towns, and actually was hired to teach at Wendover High, out in Wendover. And I got out there – and what that would have meant was my wife living in at least the Salt Lake area during the week, and I would come home on the weekends. And I just said to myself, “I can’t do this. I can’t live without my wife during the week.” And so, I said, “This is something I can’t do.” And decided to leave that position. And I did some substitute teaching for a couple of months while I looked around for other jobs. And one day just got a call from Clearfield Job Corps, and went in and interviewed, and was hired to teach reading. And that was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had as a teacher. First of all, the class sizes were quite small. It wasn’t a regular class situation, where you’d have a certain amount of students for a quarter, or a semester. You had students as long as they needed to, until they passed a reading test at least a ninth grade level or higher. And so, you could have students for a week; you could have students for a year – just depends on how long it took them. [26:23] But these were very, very unique kids. Some of them runaways; some of them gang members. Some of them this was really their last chance and last hope to receive a high school diploma. And so, most of them – I can’t say that all – but most of them took it very seriously, in the best way that they knew how. And so, when the opportunity to teach at Ogden High, with some similar demographics: students in low poverty, and things like that, came along, I decided, “Well, if I can teach at Clearfield Job Corps and feel successful, and feel like I’ve made an impact, I can probably teach anywhere.” And I had also told my wife that if ever a job opportunity came up in the Ogden or the Salt Lake area, for teaching theater, that I would go after it. But I was perfectly content and happy to stay at Clearfield Job Corps for the rest of my career; that’s how much I liked it. And so, this opportunity at Ogden High came open, and I went and I interviewed, and was offered the job. And I took, I think, five days to think about it. And called the principal and said, “Yeah, I’ll take it.” And that was also with some convincing of my boss at the time, at Clearfield Job Corps, to take it. [Laughter] [28:31] Which is really interesting to have a boss say, “You know what? You need to take that job.” Rather than, “No, please – stay here,” [laughs] type of thing. And I – having taught there for six years now, I completely understand why I needed to take the job at Ogden High. These are really special kids, here in Ogden; really special. And it takes teachers that are willing to commit to them, and be there for them. MH: At the risk of running out of tape, I wanted to ask you to describe the co-worker at Ogden High that you admired so much. THE WAY WE WORKED: UTAH WORKS: JED BROBERG 7 JB: Just one? [Laughs] MH: Maybe just one. [Quiet chuckling] JB: Well, today I attended the funeral of a co-worker. MH: Um-hmm. JB: He had colon cancer, and he was a really great guy. He [laughs] – the students and the faculty all called him “C-Train.” That was his pet name, I guess [laughs]. And Mr. Christensen – he really knew how to influence kids. He really knew how to get them to want to learn. And I believe that if anything has influenced me at Ogden High, it’s been his ability to connect with kids on a deeper and personal level. They trusted him, and that’s something that I think every student needs, is a person that they know they can trust and that can mentor them. And he was really great at that. And it was very evident in seeing that at who all showed up to his funeral today, because it was quite a few former and present students (or current students), as well as the faculty at Ogden High. [31:27] I would say the entire faculty at Ogden High is great. We [laughs] – we have each other’s backs. And what’s unique about Mr. Christensen with that saying, is that we have each other’s backs, is that shirts were actually made for him, that people could buy, that said, “We’ve got your back.” I was sick myself, the year before this school year (so, last school year). And I actually had to have my colon removed. And the faculty had my back at the time. And it was a very hard year recovering from that. And everybody was always willing to help out. And I think that’s really special. I think that’s something you don’t find in every faculty. I think it’s something that gets built over generations, if that makes sense? And it the sort of thing where you know – because it’s not like we always agree with each other. And sometimes we don’t always get along. But we have each other’s back. And it’s sort that, you know, “Nobody can hurt my little brother but me.” [Laughter] Type of thing. So, yeah; it’s a really great faculty. It’s a really great school. And really, really great students. MH: It really sounds you’ve found the right place. JB: Yeah, yeah. MH: Congratulations – JB: Thank you. MH: On finding it. THE WAY WE WORKED: UTAH WORKS: JED BROBERG 8 Okay. [End recording – 33:27] THE WAY WE WORKED: UTAH WORKS: JED BROBERG 9