Wilton resident Stan Spilecki is a teacher, a worker, a performer, a craftsman, an artist, an inspiration and more. An expert in theater set design, lighting, queuing, and just about everything else that goes into most performing arts, Spilecki was my boss when I attended the University of Maine at Farmington. I went into the theater knowing him only as “the tall guy who runs the theater” and he ended up giving me a job on the spot. Right out of the gate, he had the most profound effect on me as a student and as a person.

Sometime after college, when I found myself pushing through a monotonous and soul-crushing job, Spilecki said something that’s helped me countless times over the past decade: “I know it’s hard, but when you get up in the morning and go through your routine, lace your boots with a sense of purpose, with intent.”

Anyone who’s had the pleasure of working for or with Spilecki has benefited from his wisdom. I’ve seen lots of people turn themselves around or recalibrate with his help and guidance. He’s a mensch.

What do you do and where are you from? I am the resident theatrical designer/technical director of Alumni Theatre/Emery Community Arts Center at the University of Maine at Farmington. I’ve lived in Wilton for the last 11 years and Maine for 34 years though I grew up mostly in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Interestingly, we discovered that my 5th-great-grandparents are buried in Readfield, so I have some Maine roots.

When did you get into theater and what drew you to it? Initially, my kindergarten teacher would read us books and we would act them out. Then, in my all-boy Catholic School, they brought in girls from our sister school to do the plays. That was a big draw! Then my senior year, the art teacher, who usually did the sets for those plays, got hurt and I jumped in and designed and built my first set with my buddies.

I got a job in the college theater building sets and doing lighting, which led to a double-major of English and theater. I was lucky enough to have a great mentor who further deepened my appreciation and gave me a great education. Because of this, when I graduated, I was able to freelance professionally for several years.

I think what drew me in were the relationships and friendships that I made doing it. Eventually I began to appreciate the power of live theater to move people and to invoke empathy in a different way than can be done in other media because you are all in the same room, in the same moment when something compelling happens.

What were you doing before UMF? For most of my professional life, theater had to take second place while I raised my family. I’ve been both in retail and industrial sales mostly in the woodworking realm. I was involved in building factories and manufacturing systems all over the world. I’ve also run a bunch of companies and businesses, from manufacturing machinery sales to John Deere tractors. After I cashed out of a machinery business that I was a partner in I also did business consulting.

But theater was always in the background. I spent many years involved with Community Little Theatre in Auburn and was lucky enough to work with and design for The Public Theatre in Lewiston. I was also one of the ringleaders of the multiple-award-winning Out of the Box Theater in Lewiston. . . . When we moved up here to Wilton, it became too difficult for my wife and I to keep OOTB going. A lot of our main collaborators also moved away so it finally faded. We helped create The Downstage at L/A Arts, which eventually flooded, and they recently moved. Someday OOTB may rise again, but I have enough to do at the university these days.

Has your path always been clear to you or have there been some surprises along the way? My path seems clearer in retrospect than it did as I went along. It all makes sense looking back at it, though it doesn’t seem like it should. I think one of the latest academic catch phrases is “experiential learning.” Theater is one of the most experiential learning opportunities in a college from what I can tell. We don’t have to make it so, it just is. I learned woodworking and basic electrical work in my college job, which led to jobs selling tools and then machinery. Since opening night of a play can’t be postponed, project management is extremely important. Theater also requires the ability to work in and create teams. The ability to analyze a play and conceptualize a set and lighting design creates a breeding ground for creative thought in a practical application. So, from the theater I took practical hands-on knowledge as well as people and management skills to build a career, albeit a unique one.

What are some of your interests and/or hobbies when you’re not doing “theater stuff”? I have several things that I love to do. Luckily most of them can be done around my theater schedule. My wife and I both love to cook for each other and explore food. In the winter we like to snowshoe as often as we can. My love of working with my hands and woodworking and home improvement fall in that category. Since I spend so much time in a dark theater, I get out in the summer months to garden and improve our property. I also have gotten back to reading when I can, mostly nonfiction these days.

What is the most important part of your day? It’s interesting, I’m a theater person but I am actually a morning person. I have a morning ritual that helps me wake up and get my mind going. It’s also when I have the most energy.

The most satisfying? Definitely after dinner spending time with my wife. One of the things I learned when I was younger, but did not fully embrace, was that I work to live, I don’t live to work. Even if I am extremely passionate about my job and lucky to be working in the theater and working with students, and I am, it’s the means to the end for having my life. I guess one of the things that I have learned from the theater is that every moment can be special. Some shows and some moments in our lives can be in rarified air, but all are fleeting. I embrace the shows and the moments, but I do so as part of building my life.

Within the job, the most satisfying thing is seeing where the students I have worked with go and what they do. I love when they get in contact or come back to visit. Between my wife and I, we have four children and one grandchild who we love very much and are very proud of. To me, many of my former students are friends or extended family. They give me hope for this world and this country.

What don’t most people know about you? While I am large and somewhat imposing in my demeanor, I am one of the world’s biggest Muppet fans, I cry at stupid movies, and I am always thinking (my wife even got me a T-shirt!).

What are your biggest influences in life? The biggest influence in my life was my father, who respected the path that I took as unique as it ended up being. He taught me how to be a good man, which I hope I am evolving into.

In the present, my wife is a huge influence in my life. A lifelong teacher and professor, she has helped me traverse the world of the university. Beyond that, her unyielding optimism has been a great balance to my darker nature. We not only love each other but we like each other. The COVID lock-down was a challenge for everyone, but we really enjoyed our time together.

I have also been greatly influenced by the young people around me, both our own children, and all the students that I have worked with over the last dozen years here at UMF.

What do you consider the most important thing to teach students and employees? That’s a hard question. One of the most important things I try to teach students is that they are capable of doing things they never thought that they could do. Most of the students on my crews have very little experience doing things with their hands . . . and just never had the opportunity until they show up at my door. It’s amazing to watch them progress and see how much confidence they gain. As their years with me pass, they get better and then are able to teach new students. The confidence is in the skills, of course, but it becomes much more than that. So many of them gain confidence as people.

I also tell them stories of my life and help them realize that life is fluid and ever changing, that it’s important to acknowledge what they have been through because it gives them strength in what they will need to deal with next. I also try to give them context for why they are here. I am a true believer in a liberal arts education, though I don’t think academia sells it very well anymore. For me, my time as a student in college prepared me for the adventure of my life. I learned to analyze subjects, enunciate my thoughts, and challenge my preconceptions. I learned to communicate and research and act on what I learned. It didn’t matter what the subject was and, in fact, the broad sampling of subjects just proved that the skills, not just the subjects, were the real education. Plus, I found out about many things that have enriched my life ever since. Did I understand that when I was a student? Hardly! I was too stressed and too busy to see the forest for the trees. I try to show them the forest.

As employees I also try to help them understand what will make them marketable and valuable anywhere. All those things that you must have a job to learn, but that not all jobs teach. We have an immutable timeline with opening night, so slacking off, not showing up, not being willing to work hard just doesn’t cut it. I am happy to say that the generation of students that I have worked with give me great hope for the future.

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