When Marsha Buck started teaching at Pleasanton Middle School in 1990, she probably didn’t know at the time how much she would impact the school during her career. Teaching eighth grade English and classes in drama and sixth grade QUEST, Buck is perhaps best known on campus for the work she does with the Panther Players, an after school student acting troupe she founded in 1996. The troupe meets once a week from November to March and students put together a play, which they perform for the elementary schools in the district.
After 20 years of teaching and 10 years of leading the troupe, Buck is retiring at the end of the school year, meaning when the Panther Players perform their last show of the year at Lydiksen Elementary School next Tuesday, it will also be the last performance in Buck’s Panther Player career.
“The greatest thing is watching some of the students who have been in the program and see where they are now,” Buck said. “Our very first kids are now graduating from college and some have gone into musical theater programs. They are exceptionally talented people and it’s wonderful to know that in some way we’ve thrown something into the mix to make them who they are.”
Each year, students audition for the group in October and nearly 100 students usually come out for the 20-30 open spots. Jan Berry, a teacher at PMS and Buck’s co-leader of the Panther Players, said students get one shot to “knock my socks off.” This year, there are 25 players who are performing a play titled “Princess” about a frog that wakes up and finds he’s a prince. Princesses from familiar fairy tales make appearances throughout the show and hilarity ensues. Buck said the group chooses plays that are light, funny and are easy to add characters and improvisation so that every student has a role.
“We have a great group,” said Liz Lommerin, an eighth grade student who has been in the Panther Players for three years. “We have a lot of fun, especially with the play we’re doing this year. We really made it our own.”
Buck first got the idea to start the Panther Players when she was considering applying for a Parent Partnerships In Education teacher grant. Having studied theater as a student at Cal State Fullerton, she thought forming an after school group centered on acting would be a great opportunity for the students. In addition to learning acting skills and having fun, Buck saw the troupe as a place where students could build their confidence, which is why she decided the students should perform for elementary school children, instead of their peers.
“Sometimes middle school kids aren’t as confident as may come across,” Buck explained. “The idea is that by performing for younger kids, they will have a greater confidence level. The younger kids love it–they even ask the older ones for their autographs. The students feel free to take risk with the performance when they are with younger kids.”
“We do a lot of improvisation and just sort of make it up as we go along,” said Sarah Weinberg, an eighth grade student who has also been in the Panther Players for three years.
Berry said she can tell that the Panther Players has a positive impact on the students because many of them continue their involvement with theater in high school.
“(Buck and I) always go together to the Amador/Foothill spring musical and count how many students on stage have been Panther Players,” Berry said. “There were times when eight of the kids on stage had been in the program.” She added that the two always go backstage after the show and congratulate their former students. “(Buck)’s really loved by the students. She’s a hard working, impressive person.”
Hardworking is a good description of Buck when looking at her long list of activities. In addition to teaching six classes and leading the Panther Players, she can also be seen organizing PMS’s Academic Olympics, Talent Show, Career Day and annual drama productions. As if that wasn’t enough, she is also involved with the school’s WASC review, works on PMS’s Distinguished School applications, is part of the district’s writing committee and is the middle school faculty representative for the Tri-Valley Education Collaborative.
Buck started teaching in Pleasanton in 1984 as a substitute teacher and later went to Donlon Elementary School where she was a long-term substitute. From that position, she became a PE teacher at Donlon and later taught a sixth grade class (at the time Donlon was K-6). She initially moved to Pleasanton for her husband’s work and her two children, now ages 29 and 33, both graduated from Foothill High School.
After spending 21 years in Pleasanton, Buck and her husband, who is already retired, plan to move to Chandler, Ariz. by the end of summer. The location is closer to both her children–one lives in Long Beach, Calif. and the other in Texas.
Although it will be hard to leave her students, Buck said she is looking forward to starting over in a new place and trying something different. She can be sure that, no matter where she goes, she’ll surely be remembered here in Pleasanton.
“Mrs. Buck is my favorite teacher,” Weinberg said. “She treats everyone like they’re old enough to have their own opinion and is everyone’s friend.” Lommerin added, “She’s awesome.”
