My Sunday: Timothy Threlfall
Timothy Threlfall has been a faculty member in the nationally-recognized BFA Music Dance Theatre (MDT) program at Brigham Young University for 27 years. (When COVID hit in 2020, 16 MDT alumni were on Broadway and in Broadway national tours.) Tim directed a stage production of the musical Godspell, which is currently running at BYU and will be his final show at the university before his retirement. Tim also directs regularly at Tuacahn Center for the Arts in St. George, Utah were he will be directing his 15th production this season, a re-mount of his 2016 The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Tim is also active as an actor appearing in numerous Church films and voice over roles as well as LDS market films such as One Good Man and Once I Was Engaged. He spent time on the island of Moorea in French Polynesia this past summer working on a film entitled, Treasures of the Heart.
Although The Season in general doesn't cover educational performances, GODSPELL is notable as the final presentation at BYU directed by Tim Threlfall, whose tenure at BYU's Music Dance Theatre program has lasted more than 27 years and will end next year. In a church culture deeply enamoured of musicals, Threlfall's pragmatic, business-focused approach centered on making BYU students into versatile, marketable, and professional cast members. This strategy has proved its worth through graduates like Tony nominee Will Swenson, as well as current headliners like Oyoyo Joi Bonner taking the final bow weekly in Moulin Rouge—as well as, he points out, professionals beyond Broadway in markets all across the industry.
Threlfall, known for a self-deprecating and acerbic sense of humor, would be the first to admit how ephemeral and double-edged legacy can be, but is proud of his successes. When asked to discuss his achievements he primarily focuses on pulling BYU out of isolation and into contact with the broader world, connecting the program with the National Alliance for Musical Theater, workshopping new works, and maintaining his own professional career so as to remain relevant and grounded in current practice. The landscape has changed drastically in the last 27 years, and although he isn't Trey Parker or Matt Stone, Tim Threlfall may be equally responsible for putting more Mormons on our stages. — Ted Bushman.
The Season asked Tim to describe what an average Sunday is like. Here are his responses.
An empty nest. We are empty nesters now, so Sunday mornings are quiet except for rushing to complete preparing for Priesthood lessons that are to be taught on certain Sundays. Two of our three children and their families moved back to Utah totally unexpectedly following Covid and now work from home. So most Sunday afternoons are spent with the family gathering for dinner…most often at our house.
Live church. I think my wife and I were both glad to return to “live” church meetings. We are both teachers and spent a lot of time on daily Zoom classes during COVID. Teaching acting via Zoom was something of a challenge and not one I would be anxious to return to. My wife teaches middle school science, so hers was a bit more conducive to the Zoom format.
Not a day of rest. We mostly spend time with family. That means four young children at our house on Sundays…so it really is not a day of “rest.” We get to rest from the work world, but not from being with very active youngsters—and we would not want it to be any other way! We purchased a product called Portal TV during the start of COVID when all three of our children and their families lived on the East and West Coast. It allowed us to talk to all three families at the same time and provided a wide-angle view of each families’ home. It was a real blessing and made us feel much closer to the grandkids. We now have one still in Boston, but the other two are here in Utah County with us.
Widening view. Usually a day of rest depending upon your Church calling really. There are some callings that really don’t allow for rest on the Sabbath. We always went to church with our family, even when we were traveling. The kids usually begged not to go to Sunday School when we were in other wards, but we almost always made it to Sacrament Meeting. Now, we often spend some time outdoors on Sundays when the weather allows. That is not something we did earlier in our lives, but we do now. Kind of a change of attitude that for us has widened our view of what “works” for us on the Sabbath.