Daily Inspiration: Meet Thomas Schultheis

Today we’d like to introduce you to Thomas Schultheis.

Hi Thomas, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
The journey of creating EXTRACURRICULAR started from a lifelong curiosity about how stories are told and where they live. Having spent decades working in the world of musical theatre—performing on Broadway and national tours, directing, and working closely with young artists—I kept noticing how traditional theatre boxes audiences and performers in. I wanted to break those walls down.

The idea for EXTRACURRICULAR grew out of a desire to create something different: an original, linear promenade immersive musical set inside an actual high school campus. I wanted a piece where the audience isn’t just sitting in the dark watching a story, but is physically walking the halls alongside the characters, experiencing the emotional high-stakes of high school in real-time and in real spaces.

Conceiving and writing the show—shaping the story and 20 distinct named characters—has been a labor of love. But an immersive musical doesn’t live on paper; it lives in the air of a room. Getting it to where it is today has meant treating every workshop —from Louisiana and Virginia to our immersive run in Southern California—as a living laboratory.

Today, watching this world take shape on actual campuses, seeing actors discover authentic performances, and watching audiences step into the hallway drama is the most rewarding part of the ride. We aren’t just staging a show; we are building a brand-new, breathing theatrical experience from the ground up.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Creating a brand-new, original immersive musical—especially one set on an actual high school campus —is completely uncharted territory, which means the road has been anything but flat.

One of the biggest early struggles was logistical: how do you take a narrative with 20 distinct characters and place it onto a real, functioning school campus? Each location shift, cue, and audience traffic flow requires a different way of thinking about blocking, choreography, and storytelling. You aren’t just directing actors; you’re essentially designing an interactive experience where the audience is breathing the same air as the cast.

And artistically, writing an original show means facing a lot of rewrites. You can have a concept on paper, but until you put it in a room with people and a score, you don’t know if it works. Navigating those moments of trial and error—rewriting scenes and rethinking whole sequences during workshops in Louisiana, Virginia, and California—can be humbling.

Those struggles are what make the work exciting. Every hurdle has forced us to be more creative, more adaptable, and more committed to the vision. When you finally watch an audience step into the hallways and see the whole event click into place, it’s very rewarding.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
What I Do & What I Specialize In

I am a director, choreographer, and theatre creator. My main focus is *EXTRACURRICULAR*, an original immersive musical set on an actual high school campus. Rather than using a traditional stage, I build environments where the audience walks the hallways alongside the characters.

What I’m Known For

I am known for bringing a professional standard to developmental theatre and arts education. With a background that includes performing on Broadway and national tours, plus years of leadership in youth programs and educational theatre, I focus on giving developing artists rigorous, real-world experience.

What I’m Most Proud Of

I am most proud of building *EXTRACURRICULAR* from a concept into a living workshop series across Louisiana, Virginia, and California. Beyond the physical production, my proudest achievement is seeing participants step into professional spaces, trust their own instincts, and grow as artists.

What Sets Me Apart

What sets my work apart is the format and the philosophy. By taking musicals out of the proscenium arch and putting them on real school campuses, the audience experiences the story in a physical, interactive way. The goal is to change how stories are told and experienced.

We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Luck in creative work isn’t just random lightning. It’s either preparation meeting opportunity or a sudden pivot caused by a roadblock.

The Good Luck: Finding incredible collaborators, mentors, or spaces (like a school willing to embrace an unconventional immersive musical) at just the right moment.

The Bad Luck: Logistical hurdles, spaces falling through, or casting shifts. When you’re building an original show from scratch, these setbacks are usually what force you to find a stronger, more creative way to tell the story.

Luck opens the door. Grit and adaptability are what walk you through it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://extracurricularexperience.wordpress.com/
• Instagram: @extracurricular.experience
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61585710022939
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@EXTRACURRICULAR.EXPERIENCE

Image Credits
Laurie Barber, Spencer Pannill, Rhodes&Rhodes Productions & Bruin Productions.