Meet Brian Rickel: Theater Practitioner, Professor and Human

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brian Rickel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brian, what’s the most important thing you’ve done for your children?
We had our child fairly late in life and this is a subject I’ve thought a lot about as our child grows into a beautiful human being. To date, I believe the most important thing we’ve done as parents is to show our child that love reigns supreme in all ways. Not only do we remind each other multiple times a day that we love each other, but we try to instill “love” as a place from which to lead in every corner of life. The simple fact of the matter is that I am a partner in raising a person who will become (so long as this gender identification sticks…) a white man in America. For many, our son will represent oppression, fear and anxiety. We’ve already had someone comment on how “pure” he looks and it felt vile. While this reality will always break my heart, it is the simple truth and one he will need to face with love, respect and care. In that, we have a set of rules to live by that we repeat every single day. 1. Be Kind (above all else) 2. Be a good friend (especially to those in need of one) 3. Be respectful (of others, but also of yourself) 5. Be a good listener (not just someone who hears). Love is love is love is love is love is love. Period. We want our child to know that sometimes loving someone may not be the popular thing to do, but love doesn’t care about what is popular. Love cares only about what is love.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’ve been a theater artist since I was very young. I have never had aspirations to be famous. I have never had aspirations to be on Broadway. I have only had aspirations to live and work in the theater in some capacity. Some have found it odd that I’ve never wanted for New York or LA. Instead, I am more a “Chicago” guy who found himself with a teaching job in San Diego. These are two of the greatest theater cities I’ve lived in simply because I never wanted for work in either. As I grow older and have a family, my desire for being out late in rehearsal after working another job all day is waning quickly. I decided academia was a place in which I could grow and thrive while mentoring younger artists about the realities of theater making and our industry. Watching new artists grow is something I look forward to every Fall with our new crop of students. And what we do is important. During the pandemic we all turned to artists to find salve in the brokenness of the world around us. And yet, everywhere we turn in academia it’s STEM, STEM, STEM. Those fields are important, but if it’s the last thing I accomplish before I die, I want to everyone to realize that studying the arts is just as, if not more, important than the STEM fields. Because at the end of your day, you turn to us for comfort. And that counts. For a lot.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am lucky enough to have my best friend on earth living in the same city! We do quite a lot together and it usually involves evening cocktails and just spending time together. We do travel together and the things we look forward to usually involve really killer food, museums and just kind of meandering through cities. One of my favorite trips we ever took together was to Austin, TX. We just kind of hung out, walked through the city having drinks every so often while we headed toward the Johnson Presidential Library. We were both in kind of weird relationship moments in our lives and the whole trip was just a great time to focus on our friendship and the things we nerd out about. Our only regret was not waiting in line at Franklin BBQ for delicious meats. BUT…we did find a killer BBQ spot and went back for dinner at another southern spot twice while we were there. I’d travel anywhere with John. We’ve known each other since 1995 and he is part of my family. One of our favorite spots in San Diego is a little bar in his neighborhood called Fernside. It’s sits right in the South Park/North Park area and is just a killer joint with great food and better cocktails. The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to take a moment to give a huge shoutout to my spouse. We come from very different family backgrounds and find ourselves parenting together in a way that honors both of those backgrounds, but also with an individual family spin of our own. Marriage is hard. There is no lie in that. Parenting is hard. That’s the greatest truth I might ever tell. But we have one another and we have found that by being in constant communication about the world we want our kid to be a part of, there is so much agreement in how to raise him. We also come from very different backgrounds in terms of what we do for a living. I am steeped deeply in the academic side of the performing arts and she is a hair stylist. While both artistic fields they are very different when it comes to how we got there. I have the ultimate respect for those who choose a trade over an academic life. This is odd because my academic life involves a trade; acting. But we find middle ground on how to navigate the world with our family. We also have a ball together. There is no one on this earth I’d rather grab a bike at the beach and go day drinking with. Sighhhh…we need a baby sitter and a pandemic to end!

Image Credits
Show photo (with jack daniels bottle) Cygnet Theater