Former students would like Minneapolis theater teacher Chris Fisher to take a bow

Chris Fisher practically grew up on stage, getting his first laugh lines from Harry Blackstone, the famous magician, when he was 7 years old. As a kid, he stood in front of huge crowds who roared and clapped whenever he spoke, making an indelible imprint on him.

"I think that just rearranged my mind," Fisher said.

Fisher did street theater in Spain, got involved with the Playwright's Lab in Minneapolis and acted and wrote until he became what he calls "a triple A player" in the theater crowd.

"And then I was broke," Fisher said. "Someone said, 'You could always teach.' "

So Fisher did what was supposed to be a temporary stint at Southwest High School. After the first week, students were surprised he came back. After the second, they said, "you're not there yet, but you have a chance."

Something clicked. Fisher knew he either had to flee back to showbiz, or he would be doomed to teach.

Some 30 years later, Fisher's colleagues, former students and their parents had hoped "Fish" would be going to the Tony Awards Sunday to receive the Excellence in Theatre Education Award. He didn't make it as a finalist, but his fans thought it was time he got the recognition he deserved anyway.

"There are lot of young adults doing great things because of his confidence in us," said Lauren Ignaut, director of studio theater programming at the Guthrie Theater. "I appreciated Fish when I was a student [at Southwest], but I really appreciate him as an adult. There was really no ego in him, it was always about us. He knew each and every one of us in a unique and authentic way."

Many of Fisher's students have gone on to work in the theater or show business, from local companies to New York and Paris. But even those who didn't chose the arts grew personally because of his encouragement in his English, theater or film classes, colleagues say.

North's Principal Shawn Harris-Berry's children attended Southwest and admired Fisher so much that when she was chosen to overhaul North High she lured him to lead their arts program.

"Under his tutelage my vision for the Academy of Arts and Communications is now a reality and 96% of our founding students are on track to graduate on time," she wrote in her nomination essay to the Tony Awards.

"I was always struck by his unique style of teaching," said Harris-Berry, "and I was struck by his tenacity in seeking out students of color to get them into activities."

The principal said that Fisher "has created a legacy in Minneapolis Public Schools that compares to none."

Diane Dube, whose daughter Elyzabeth Gorman learned to love theater and the arts by attending Fisher's classes and acting in school plays, also wrote a moving essay about Fisher. Gorman later studied theater in Boston and now works in New York City as a director. Dube said her daughter got the wild idea of taking the play "Trojan Women" and setting it in a Bosnian prison camp, and shared it with Fisher.

"Then do it," Fisher replied.

"She credits that with being a turning point in her theater career," said Dube.

Her daughter was also part of a group of students in the mid-1990s that, under Fisher, turned an old classroom and cloak room into a space where they wrote, directed and performed original works. The theater is now named after Fisher.

"I wasn't fond of who I was," Fisher said. "When you are acting, you are pretending to be someone else. On a dark night you go on a really deep search of yourself in front of an audience. What a strange job. I don't regret showbiz, but it just wasn't for me."

When kids at Southwest asked him to start a drama club, he said, "I will, if you produce your own work. I thought it would make my job easier. Sometimes, my job is to just get out of the way, but to ask questions."

Fisher said he's been successful at both schools only because of "fabulous collaborators," writers and directors who are resident teachers. "I'm usually not the smartest guy in the room," he said.

Even though "Southwest treated me like a visiting dignitary, I always wanted to be at North High School," said Fisher. "I want to go where the stories are interesting, deep, profound. I've been given a chance to imagine an arts integration school. [Harris-Berry] said, 'make what you imagine happen.' You don't usually get that in a career."

"It's always been about the brilliance of the students," Fisher said. "I'm glad I didn't listen to the voice that said, stay out of education."

"I've stood at the front of smoke-filled rooms full of drunks at midnight," Fisher said with a smile.

"This is nothing."

jtevlin@startribune.com • 612-673-1702