Judith Farris leaves legacy of teaching singing, life lessons at Southeast

It all started with a joke between then-Southeast Missouri State University president Ken Dobbins and Judith Farris about what it would take to bring her back to Cape Girardeau.

At the time, Farris was living in New York City and working as a vocal teacher and singing. Feeling a need to give back to her hometown and community, she offered her services to the university.

"I came to offer a master class," she said. "Sheryl Crow had given some money, and I couldn't do that at the time, and it was maybe 15 years ago. I wanted to do something for my alma mater and my hometown, so I offered to do a master class and I did. Ultimately, then, I was asked to come back and do another one not long after that."

She agreed to come back on the condition the class would be open to the community and not only students at the university.

"They arranged that, and it was a lovely thing; we did it on the stage of Academic [Hall]," she said.

Students give Judith Farris a group hug during their rehearsal for "Big River" at the River Campus.Laura Simon

Shortly after, Dobbins asked her to come back again, and she decided she could best serve students at the school if she became an artist in residence and taught private lessons and voice classes. She began to work on a schedule where she would return to her studio in New York once a month, but with traveling so often becoming a burden, she began to travel to her studio once every other month, which she continues to do today.

"My goal was to give back to the community and my alma mater, and that's what I have done," Farris said. "I'm very grateful for the opportunity, and I'm very pleased with the outcome."

After her original master class and being asked to return, Farris needed to be reassured the students at Southeast would appreciate her efforts and listen to what she had to say.

"I came and tried working with the musical and seeing how they accepted me, and ... I thought there was a need, and that they treated me with respect and kind of honored all I'd done since I'd left Cape so long ago," she said in an interview last fall.

She originally came to try out the position for a year in 2005, and now, 12 years later, Farris is bringing her time at Southeast to a close.

Judith Farris poses for a photo Tuesday inside the Bedell Performance Hall at Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus.Laura Simon

Fittingly enough, Farris will complete her tenure at the university with "Big River," a musical inspired by Mark Twain's story of Huckleberry Finn and the first musical Farris worked on with students at the new River Campus facility in 2007.

"It's wonderful because first, I love the show. It has a lot of meaning, but (professor of theater in acting and directing and chairman of the Conservatory of Theatre and Dance) Kenn Stilson and I agree that it's like a love story," she said. "... But for me, it has special meaning besides loving the show and its story, because it was the first show we did at the River Campus, and ironically, if there is any such thing, I'm coming back, this is my last show to do, and who could've guessed it would be all happening like this. So I like that idea."

For the moment, "Big River" will remain Farris' favorite show she's worked on at Southeast.

"It's like, 'Which of your kids do you love the most?'" she said with a laugh.

Throughout her time at the university, the department, now known as the Conservatory of Theatre and Dance, has grown steadily and become more advanced -- a growth in which Farris had a large part.

"When I first came back, it was an open door for anything I needed to do and wanted to do, because we didn't have people; we had, I don't know, 17 people in the department, and now there's almost 200," she said.

Farris said the effort and increased work as time went on all boils down to the students and their ultimate success.

"The students are the high point; not my successes, their successes," she said. "I try to impart to them from my years and years of experience as a performer, as a teacher of a lot of variety of abilities for singers, Broadway on down to the novice who comes here knowing nothing. It's just always a kicker when somebody gets it, and that's the teacher in me, and I'll always be a teacher."

One student of Farris', Andrew Tebo, went on to perform in the traveling tour of "Mamma Mia!" which visited the River Campus in October.

Tebo, originally from Wentzville, Missouri, was part of the inaugural showing of "Big River" at the River Campus and credits Farris for helping him find his voice and become the artist he is today.

"... Honestly, we all can speak, and we all can somewhat have the tools that were given, and she is a person who knows how to crack into you and expand the gift that you were given in whatever way that is," whether that be speaking louder, singing stronger or hitting that high note, Tebo said.

Having been able to see Farris during his time in Cape Girardeau last fall, Tebo said it was as if the two hadn't missed a beat, and all the skills and knowledge she instilled in him during his time at Southeast came flooding back.

"All the things I learned [in the theater department] from Kenn Stilson to wardrobe classes with Rhonda (Weller-Stilson, associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts) -- all those things helped me, but the capability Judith gave me pushed me to have a strong work ethic and work harder," Tebo said.

Morgan Jones, a Tennessee native and third-year student of Farris' at Southeast, said Farris is one of the main reasons she chose to attend the university. With a background in classical training like Farris, Jones knew Farris would be able to help her transition into the theater program at Southeast, and Farris didn't disappoint.

"You just grow really attached, and she teaches you so many things that have nothing to do with singing," Jones said. "One of the things she always says is how complex it is for humans to just do simple things, because singing is really just three things, but humans have to mess with stuff. So much of her teaching isn't so much her making you do something, but making you do less, and I've learned that to be true in a lot of things."

In working with Farris, Jones and other students found it's not just singing when it comes to her classes, but much more.

"I probably won't be able to sing forever, but there are things I've taken away from her that I will be able to use forever," Jones said. "There are things that I tell other people who aren't even singers. She has students who aren't even singers because what she teaches is so applicable to everything."

Southeast senior Karl Hawkins is grateful for the focus Farris provides during her lessons and for her passion to see her students succeed.

"It's not just about singing with her; it's about how you carry yourself as a person, how to have confidence, how that translates into your performance life as well as your personal life," he said.

And that attention isn't restricted to the classroom, but reaches further to her students' auditions, performances and beyond.

"She always wants to know. She's always there, even if she can't physically be there; she wants to be in the know," Hawkins said. "... The fact that I know she's there, that's enough."

Hawkins said there are a number of "Judy-isms" her students know by heart, but the one he finds most meaningful is, "Doubt invalidates your ability."

"If you have doubt, that negates everything and gives you no kind of power to do anything. But if you get rid of that doubt and leave that fear at the door, then you're able to do what you need to do, and that translates into singing well and getting a job," he said.

Farris said she hopes her philosophies and lessons, along with the work her students continue to pursue, will remain a part of her legacy after she leaves the university.

"They say a teacher of any kind never dies, since your work goes on and on, so the students who perform, that's one legacy; the students who teach, another legacy; the students who never forget what I taught them, and hopefully -- what I tell my students the first lesson: The least thing you will learn from me is how to sing," she said. "And they look at me like, 'What?' But they learn; a lot of it is life's philosophies and getting a grip on who you are and what you need to do in your life, and with that, through the study of singing, you become familiar with that very truth."

During her time as the artist in residence at Southeast, Farris created the Class Voice III course and its annual recital, which had its final performance in December and no longer will be offered after her departure.

"I always loved that, and this last one was especially wonderful because we had a full, full house, and the students sang a song from 'Rent,' the musical, and changed the words to have to do with me, and that was a blessing," she said. "It just was amazing. I always liked those the most because it was up close and personal, and the community was very supportive of that."

In most cases, reactions from former and present students include the need to say "thank you," whether that be for the solid life lessons learned in her private sessions or the tough love received in the classroom to help push them continually to work harder.

"Honestly, I would just say 'thank you,'" Jones said. "She, for me, personally, helped me transition through a really, I'd say one of the worst parts of my life, and she sort of became like a pseudo-family member, because it is almost a therapy session when you go to sing. It's such a personal thing."

Hawkins agreed.

"She taught me how to stand up for myself and how to fight for what I want and really take ownership of me, and then that translates into owning myself as a singer and as a performer and just as a person and that I can actually do this," Hawkins said.

With more than a decade of service to Southeast, Farris said she feels she has fulfilled her duty to serve students academically, especially at her alma mater, from which she graduated in 1970.

"I will always have loyalty to this school from when I first was a student here," she said. "I learned to sing at this school. I had never sung a note, so I owe that to this school, and I owe it to my community, who supported this school. And I like to give back when I can; it's just a very important thing to me."

And even though she'll no longer be in a classroom setting, Farris said she will continue to work.

"I'm going to always work, and currently my plan is to go to Florida. ... I have a really good Disney connection, like one of the best you could get, so I want to be connected to them in some way vocally, and I'm pretty sure I'll be able to do that."

lyoung@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3632

Pertinent address:

518 S. Fountain St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.