Billy Houck

When Billy Houck was 14 years old, he transferred into a high school Drama class in order to avoid flunking Spanish. By the time he graduated from high school, theatre was all he cared about. He majored in Drama in college, got a teaching credential, and went right back to high school. He recently retired after a 40-year career in educational theatre.

Billy has written many plays, including Birds of Prey, Womb Room, Lobster Tank, Incroyable, The Day the Flamingos Came Out to Work, Un-American, My Name is Lysistrata, an adaptation of Mark Twain's Double-Barreled Detective Story, and an original libretto for Schoolboys in Disgrace (using the songs from the Kinks album of the same name.) He has directed over 200 plays in educational, community and professional venues, including most of the Shakespeare canon.

Billy knows the performing arts have the ability to change lives. The two greatest tools he has found during a lifetime in educational theatre are Shakespeare and new student-written plays. Shakespeare is for absolutely everyone. A theatrical education with Shakespeare at its core inspires, redeems and informs the student. The expressive and emotional nature of Shakespeare's work compliments student writing. The performing arts are essential to an excellent education.

Billy is the same age as Disneyland. He is married and has three children who aren't really children any more.