Marie Allyn King’s journey in the world of theatre began in Miami Beach, Fla., where she developed a passion for the art of performance as a young girl.

“I was probably 11 or 12-years-old when I saw a touring company of West Side Story and fell in love,” King said. “I immediately started pestering my mother for lessons in singing and dance.”

King has come a long way since then. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in theater from Florida Atlantic University, got her master’s in fine arts from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, performed on Broadway and spent many years as a director in Upstate New York.

Of course, like most artists, King has had her share of relatively plain part-time jobs.

“I waited tables and sold Avon cosmetics. It was horrible,” she said with a chuckle.

In her late 40’s, she moved from New York City to Wichita for the job she has now.

She is a director of opera and musical theatre and an associate professor at Wichita State with numerous productions under her belt.

Some of the productions are her personal favorites: “The Magic Flute,” “The Wild Party,” “Dialogue of the Carmelites,” “Candide” and last week’s on-campus musical “Susannah,” which she co-directed with the renowned operatic bass Samuel Ramey.

“It was great,” King said. “He is so kind, so generous and such a down-to-earth human being.”

Besides the performing arts, they both share an interest in working with students. King considers it the most rewarding aspect of her job. She said she enjoys teaching, interacting with her students and celebrating their success.

King is also a strong believer of the benefits of theater to education.

“I wish the United States of America would embrace the arts as fully as many other countries have because I do feel that theater, music, dance and the visual arts are stimulants to education in all areas,” she said.

King gave a few examples of how working in theatre helps students gaine a well-rounded perspective.

“If you are performing Shakespeare, you are going to understand human nature and you are going to be a better reader because you are working with a form of English that is antique.

If you’re working on Gilbert and Sullivan, you’re using all these crazy words. Even if you don’t do it professionally, it’s so enriching.”

When she’s not directing, performing or teaching, King likes to cook and socialize. She spends a lot of summers in New York, mainly to visit friends and her lakeside cottage.

Her fascination with people always brings her back to the theater.

“The arts are a mirror of life,” she said. “Every facet of human nature is on display in our business. We show human beings as they are as opposed to how they wish they were.”