Episode Details

Anthony Godfrey:
You talk about the relationships with students. Did you feel like music drew you closer to students and allowed you to make maybe a faster and deeper connection with them?

Lydia Theobald:
I think music definitely enhanced everything we did in the classroom and specifically our relationships for sure. It's fun to have songs to show my students. I would always show them songs before they came out and they always gave us feedback and loved them and we would do dance parties sometimes.

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. She has been a teacher at Riverside Elementary by day and by night on weekends has performed live concerts throughout the state. On this episode of the Supercast, we take you to a weekend regional music festival in American Fork. That's where we catch up with teacher Lydia Theobald, who is a vocalist and keyboard player with the very talented local folk rock band, Seaslak. Hear firsthand about the history of the band and how Lydia's love for music has spread to students in her classroom over the years.

Anthony Godfrey:
We are in American Fork at the Fork Fest Music Festival and we're talking with Lydia Theobald about being in the band Seaslak and she just finished up her time at Riverside Elementary School. So a lot going on for you right now.

Lydia Theobald:
Yeah, it's been a busy week for sure.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah, thank you very much for talking with us. So you're a member of the band Seaslak. Tell us a little bit about that and about the performance today.

Lydia Theobald:
So my friend from high school, Mick Rudolph, started the band about three years ago and I joined the band two years ago and it's just been super fun to be in that while being a teacher at Riverside. It's been a really fun balance. I sing in the band and I play keys. We perform probably every couple months and so tonight we're playing here on the Forest Stage which is a really fun location to be in.

Anthony Godfrey:
Now the Forest Stage for those who have not been to Fork Fest, and until today that included me, is in a forest at a park in American Fork and it's the coziest, most welcoming venue I've ever been to. I'm a big concert guy. Red Butte is very welcoming but I've never been surrounded by trees quite like this for a performance. Have you performed here before? Have you watched bands before? And what are you thinking going into this?

Lydia Theobald:
We performed here the last two years and I was here last year and it was such a fun show. So going into tonight I'm just excited. I feel great. I'm really, really excited for our performance tonight.

Anthony Godfrey:
Do you think your music is particularly suited to this stage?

Lydia Theobald:
Yeah, I think so. I think we have a little bit more of a folk vibe and so I think it does well with the colorful banners on the, you know, strung between the trees and the lights. It feels like it suits us really well.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about juggling being a teacher and a performer musician at the same time.

Lydia Theobald:
It hasn't been too bad. The only hard thing is that we practice down in Springville and so we get home pretty late the ni