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RAPID CITY, SD — After spending more than two decades building one of South Dakota’s most recognized high school theater programs, Central High School theater director Justin Speck is preparing to step away from the stage after 25 years in Rapid City Area Schools.

Speck, a Central High School graduate himself, spent the last 22 years leading the school’s theater department while helping shape generations of students through acting, directing and mentorship. During his career, he helped oversee award winning productions, guided students through original plays and played a major role in the creation of Central’s current performing arts theater.

Speck said his journey into theater education started shortly before his own graduation from Central High School when his former drama teacher, Carol Saunders, challenged him to think seriously about his future. After performing a scene from “Romeo and Juliet,” Speck jokingly told Saunders he might major in theater and someday return to take her job. “I was being flippant. I was being sarcastic. I was being a teenager,” Speck said. “And now I can say unequivocally, be careful what you wish for.”

Over the years, Speck became one of the most recognizable names in high school theater in western South Dakota. Among the milestones he highlighted were selling out five performances of “Les Miserables” in 2006, helping design Central’s theater space and leading students to 22 state superior show awards. He said some of the department’s proudest accomplishments came through original productions written and developed by students themselves. “We’ve simply guided our students and gave them the opportunity to shine,” Speck said. “Sometimes just getting out of the way and letting them do their thing is the best approach.”

Speck said one of the most rewarding parts of teaching theater has been watching students discover confidence, creativity and leadership through the arts. He noted that theater programs provide opportunities not only for performers, but also for students interested in set construction, costumes, lighting, publicity and technical production. “There’s a job for everybody, which means there’s a career for everybody,” Speck said. “If they dabble in theater, they’re going to find their niche.”

He also said theater programs help students develop skills that extend far beyond the stage, including teamwork, collaboration, empathy and professionalism. Speck believes those lessons are part of why fine arts remain important in public education. “Theater is about human beings,” Speck said. “It’s important to learn empathy and inclusion and collaboration and teamwork and problem solving and creativity.”

Throughout the interview, Speck repeatedly credited students and fellow educators for shaping his career and helping the program grow. He said seeing students succeed and develop confidence has been one of the greatest rewards of his time in education. “There are moments where an actor will do something and I would be like, ‘Oh, I wish I would have thought of that when I was your age,’” Speck said. “They’re making things happen that I wasn’t able to do at their age.”

Speck also reflected on how much theater opportunities in Rapid City have expanded during his career. He pointed to the growth of local theater spaces and increasing participation from students involved in a wide variety of school activities. “There’s a lot more theater than there was twenty five years ago,” Speck said. “And I think that’s great.”

As retirement approaches, Speck said he plans to remain involved in the arts while taking time to reflect after years of demanding schedules filled with productions, rehearsals, competitions and student travel opportunities. “It is the greatest thing I’ve ever done,” Speck said. “I think the experience of creating art with young people is what I’m going to miss the most.”

Although Speck is stepping away from the classroom, Central’s theater program will continue under former student Matthew Vidal, a 2017 Central graduate who currently teaches theater at Stevens High School. Speck said seeing former students return to lead theater programs themselves is one of the clearest signs the work mattered. “If that lights somebody else’s spark,” Speck said, “I’ve done my job.”