Written by Katrin Surkan
“We are at our best when we are of service,” Professor Tory Matsos, ’02, told me. I hoped to learn more about her story and how Hillsdale College fit into it, but her life’s lesson expanded beyond her field to touch on what drives each of us to act as we do. Her Hillsdale education prepared her for the next challenge.
The next challenge ended up being eight years of freelance, professional acting and teaching theatre to all levels of performers. She then entered graduate school at The Ohio State University, which at the time was engaged in a partnership with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). “I was enjoying my career working as a professional theatre artist, but I was interested in a deeper study of acting and in teaching at the college level,” she explained. “The MFA is the terminal degree in my field, so it was a natural next step. In addition to my MFA, I earned certifications in my areas of specialization (Alexander Technique and Michael Chekhov acting technique), which I have taught at a number of colleges and universities.” Tory’s love for theatre grew with her study of it, encouraging her to pursue other experiences in the field.
While training with the education department at the RSC, she encountered Shakespeare “on her feet” in dynamic and engaging new ways. This experience taught her how to serve others through these methods. This followed naturally from her past experience. Before going to Ohio State and joining RSC, she had spent three years at Sight & Sound Theatres in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, acting in Bible-based original musicals. There, instead of a traditional curtain call where actors take their bows, there was nothing, for the performance itself was ministry in service of a greater good. It changed her perspective on curtain calls to “a moment for an actor to offer gratitude to the audience for their presence and support.” The lessons in service she gathered from her post-collegiate journey influenced her philosophy of directing. They inspired her to pursue graduate school and, in the long run, circle back to where she began. She returned to Hillsdale College in 2015, where she has since applied theatre to present students and audiences with life questions.
As we spoke, it became clear that her Hillsdale education had prepared her to face challenges and pursue learning after college, whether in graduate school or in a career. The skills she learned after Hillsdale came full circle to inspire her current work at the College. For Professor Matsos, the greatest gift her graduate education imparted was an answer to the question What am I doing this for? And her answer? To “be of service.”
Professor Matsos’s time after Hillsdale encouraged her to apply her love of learning and fearlessness in the face of challenges in her field. During graduate school and her work afterward, she learned from experts in theatre to provide her with the particular skills she would need as a professor back at Hillsdale. Among those skills, her mentors’ warm welcome to everyone curious about theatre instilled in her their “spirit of generosity.” Their simple joy in expert work debunked the myth that a good actor must have a breakdown to learn anything. And they showed her, above all, how to flourish in opportunity.
Opportunity wears many masks. Sometimes, it appears in the form of a problem, be it a missing set piece or a hard scene. Sometimes it looks like a student, bringing their own story that spins an ensemble role into a nuanced part of the story. Sometimes it is the audience, the chance to embody a question for those who watch or listen and are left deep in thought. Professor Matsos found all the above to be true, and she particularly finds the Hillsdale mission at the core of opportunities in her life and her work.
Near the end of her time as a Hillsdale student, Professor Matsos was inspired by Romans 5:3-4, “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” This theme has recurred in life after college, most recently in the trajectory of the main character in the musical she recently directed, Bright Star. In hearing her story, I hope she inspires you to endure and to hope, that you take the chapters in your story and bring them full circle toward something greater.
Katrin Surkan, ’25, has roots on the east coast but can almost always be found traveling. When not writing, reading, or chatting with someone new, she’s likely looking for a dog to pet or singing at the top of her lungs between classes with a cappuccino in hand.
Published in June 2024
