Meet Zach Wetzel | Fine Arts Teacher and Singer/Actor/Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Zach Wetzel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Zach, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Working in the Arts is a risk. Period. You never know where you’re going to work next. But that’s the fun of it. Fortunately, I have a day job teaching Music at BASIS Charter Schools and now Instrumental Music on weekends. This provides me with the stability I need to dabble as a professional singer/director in Tucson, Phoenix, and beyond. Every audition is a risk, a roll of the dice. Every show is a risk, because you never know how it’s going to go and who will come see it. But the rewards outweigh the risk. Always.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
This is the story I want people to take away from this. Find your niche. Or as they say in Spamalot: “Find your grail.” Mine is teaching. I am a full-time Music teacher and it truly is my calling. To see the smiles on the kids faces when they tackle a difficult musical number or see a student graduate and go work at Arizona Theatre Company (true story)…this is worth more to me than any big gig that I might book. I was reminded by the Theater Universe about MY niche when I recently attempted to get into some theaters in the Phoenix area. I found it especially interesting that I was not admitted as an actor at one theater but rather welcomed warmly into another as a teacher. The Phoenix Theatre Company. This is a professional regional theater that has been around for over one hundred years. TPTC workshops shows that then go straight to Broadway, as a pre-Broadway theater. Although one dream I had hoped for did not materialize, the best opportunity for me DID, in the form of teaching at TPTC. I have always wanted to work at this great theater. Things really do happen for a reason.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I haven’t given a shoutout to this theater yet, and I should! The Gaslight Theatre was one of the first theaters in AZ I ever visited. This charming “dinner and a show” melodrama theater is a Tucson staple, and one of the only remaining of its kind. Go visit when you’re in town!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have two shoutouts. The first goes to Robert Encila, industry professional based in Tucson. He has believed in me every step of the way and has helped me find my potential as an artist. A potential built on quiet confidence and work, not blasting my insecurities to the world. Those steady incremental improvements are what separate the great from the “just ok.” No one at the top feels the need to poke at people (or at themselves) because they are too busy enjoying the view.

I would also like to shout out Dena DiGiacinto and Drew Humphrey. They are the best of the best of Broadway and beyond, but they are also just wonderful people. Dena and Drew are making a tremendous difference in the Tucson theater community with their professional company Saguaro City Music Theatre. They have been instrumental in my development as a professional performing artist and teacher and have changed the lives of so many children through their inclusive theater education programs.

Website: https://zachwetzel.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mister.wetzel/

Image Credits
Ray Frieders