Age: 49
Hometown: Born and raised in Omaha. Grew up near 44th and Grover Streets.
Education: Graduate of Creighton Prep, University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Career: Actor, director, teacher and computer systems administrator at the Rose Theater.
Family: Wife Stephanie Anderson; daughter Stella, 8; son Atticus, 4.
Hobby: Playing acoustic guitar at open-mike nights. He writes his wife a song as a Christmas gift each year.
He was going to be a concert guitarist.
He earned a degree in computer science.
Yet Kevin Ehrhart makes his living primarily as an actor, director and teacher at the Rose, Omaha's theater for children and families, though he also serves as the theater's computer systems administrator.
He's husband to director-actress Stephanie Anderson, father to Stella, 8, and Atticus, 4.
Ehrhart, 49, says he likes wearing all those hats.
"I wouldn't want to give up any of them," he said. "That's why I'm so willing to make the balance happen, doing some overtime to make sure it happens. Staying on top of time management helps."
Though he enrolled in music at the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1980, Ehrhart credits theater professor Doug Paterson and actor Matt Kamprath with getting him involved in theater.
"I made about 20 friends in two weeks and decided this was how I wanted to spend my life," Ehrhart said, though he'd never been onstage before. With Doug and Laura Marr and other UNO theater veterans, he was a co-founder of Omaha's Circle Theater in 1983.
Ehrhart eventually found a position at the Emmy Gifford Children's Theater (now the Rose) when it opened in 1988.
"Then their computer systems administrator left for California, and the ancient system was crashing multiple times a day. We were losing crucial ticketing information."
Ehrhart got on the phone and solved the theater's computer problem. In the process, he became fascinated with electronics and went back to school, earning a degree in computers while working full time at the Emmy Gifford.
"I had to find the time to do the technology side and still do the artistic, because I wanted to do both well and keep ahead of the curve."
His initial concern at the Emmy Gifford was the educational component of the job. "Within the first year I fell in love with the work we did with kids," he said.
Over the course of one class, he could watch a youngster's personality bloom as he or she gained self-esteem through the arts.
"There's no better job than that in the world," he said. "The mission of the theater, to improve their lives, to help them become strong, healthy kids, has kept me going 23 years later, beyond my love for theater or technology."
In 1990 he began directing shows for the theater, a job he had studied at UNO "and would have focused on, if I hadn't needed to go make money."
He met his wife, Stephanie, through theater at UNO. The two worked for the Emmy Gifford when they started dating in 1992. By the time they wed in 1997, the theater had changed locations and names, becoming the Rose in November 1995. Stephanie left the Rose when Stella was born.
Lately, Ehrhart said, he's been doing more directing than acting. His next show will be "Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type," opening March 30.
He's also leading classes "in ninjas and pirates" with grade-schoolers, teaching advanced acting and keeping the Rose's computer system humming. In the spring he'll mentor a class with new teachers.
A typical workweek is "all over the place," Ehrhart said. He might begin the morning working on software or performing shows in metro-area schools, teach in the afternoon, then take part in evening rehearsals as an actor or director.
"9 a.m. to 9 p.m. isn't rare, but the workload ebbs and flows," he said. "Keeping track of hours was too depressing, so I'm not doing that anymore."
For Ehrhart, it was never about the money. His legacy, he said, is affecting the lives of more than 300,000 kids through performance, workshops and education.
"I understand how powerful drama is," he said. "I have respect for the effect it will have on them. Sometimes they come back, years later, to tell us how these things affected them in a positive way."
Among his students have been singer-songwriter Conor Oberst and Tony-nominated actor Andrew Rannells ("The Book of Mormon").
Ehrhart is pondering becoming a student again, working on a master's degree in the arts and perhaps exploring theater administration.
"Kevin embodies the can-do spirit at the heart of the Rose," said artistic director James Larson. "He strives to give 110 percent, regardless of how many tasks he takes on."
Contact the writer:
402-444-1269, bob.fischbach@owh.com
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