First, could you introduce yourself and how you prefer to be addressed?

I’m JJ Halchishick. Most of the students just call me Mr. JJ because Halchishick is hard to say. I use he/him pronouns… and that’s pretty much it. I’m pretty easygoing.

So, you’ve recently been casted in the Albany Civic Theater’s production of ‘Silent Sky.’Could you give a brief introduction of the story’s premise and your character?

It’s the story of Henrietta Leavitt, who was one of the first female astronomers, and it kind of chronicles some of her life leading up to some of the—(I don’t want to spoil anything!)—but some of the amazing discoveries that she makes and what her work eventually leads to. I play Peter Shaw, who is a colleague of hers who gets to take the pictures and use the telescope, and then brings the girls’ department the information for them to do all the computing. It’s kind of similar to the storyline of the movie Hidden Figures but about 60 years before that.  

This is quite the accomplishment and it shows your dedication to theater. What do you enjoy the most about acting?

I have done several plays now at the Civic Theater. I really liked doing them because it brings the arts into the community. I’ve met some amazing people. I get to learn new stuff all the time and it gets me out of my house. It’s always a challenge and it kind of keeps me from being bored. I chose this one because I just really loved the subject matter. I’m kind of a nerd, so it was all about science. Also, the other play that was coming up was a musical and I wasn’t ready to do a musical. 

You’ve acted a lot in the past as well. Do you have any memorable experiences or moments during your time on the stage?

Oh, man. One of the first plays that I did was when my kids were younger, and the first time I came out on stage one of them went “There’s Mr. JJ!” really loudly. It was the hardest I’ve ever had to try not to break while doing a performance. We also had a play where we were supposed to fake-break a vase and I was supposed to covertly switch the boxes for the props. I kind of forgot to on opening night and so when the box with the vase was broken it really broke. It made a spectacular sound and was actually very perfect, but not what was supposed to happen. 

Have you ever gotten involved with West’s theater program?

Not since I was a student here. When I was a student here, I played Dogberry in “Much Ado About Nothing,” and a couple of other small roles. I was always in the drama classes. I think I took three years of it. 

To change the subject a bit, could you describe your job position here and what it entails? 

Well, I do a lot of student support. So I go in as a teaching aide to various classes, or we also have a Social Learning Center down in G Hall where we do some social skill building classes and things of that nature. So I do a little bit of everything. depends on who needs what and when. Sometimes it’s tutoring geometry or the sciences. And sometimes it’s just to be someone there to listen, or it could literally mean poking the student next to me to make sure they stay awake. I get to do a little bit of everything.

In terms of your work at West Albany, do you have any tips on how people can make things easier for you and the students you work with?

That’s a good question. I like when all students are willing to ask for help. It actually makes it a lot easier for me to really model appropriate behavior and interactions with students when I’m not just helping necessarily the students on our caseload, but also all students. So I like to go into each classroom and just be another teacher’s aide that gets to come and go as I please. I make sure to help out whomever needs any kind of help. Don’t be afraid to ask questions to any of us that are helping out. It’s a lot more fun than just sitting there and doing behavior tracking on the computer [and] trying not to fall asleep.

Last but not least, is there anything else you’d like the readers of the Whirlwind to know about your job or hobbies?

Come volunteer down at the theater! We’re constantly looking for students. There’s a great summer program that my own children have always participated in, but we’re always needing light board operators, sound designers, just about everything in the cast and crew. It’s a lot of fun. The pay is terrible, though.