Aces of Trades: Kevin Connell follows passion for the arts to Newark-Granville Symphony

NEWARK – He brought his talent with him.

“I was a creative kid and my parents and family supported who I was,” Kevin Connell said. “I started to tap dance in the first grade. I jumped on trampolines. I figure skated. I choreographed gymnastics routines. I knitted. I helped make dinner. I played with G.I. Joe dolls and made clothes for my sister’s Barbies. I played the guitar, piano and trumpet. I dreamed of being an Olympian. I wanted to be Oliver Twist and John Boy Walton and Cinderella and Willy Wonka.”

“I loved ‘The Carol Burnett Show’ and ‘I Love Lucy,’” he said. “I won the Hula-Hoop contest on the Bozo the Clown show and a disco dancing trophy at Arthur Dinken’s Bar Mitzvah party. In 1973, I watched the movie ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ 18 times. In the summer of 1978, I saw the movie ‘Grease’ every Saturday afternoon. I wanted to be John Travolta and Olivia Newton John.”

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Connell has in fact been an actor, director, musician, college professor and entrepreneur.

“So did I end up doing what I dreamed about as a kid?” he asked. “Yes, I did."

Connell was born in Springfield and moved to Columbus in the fourth grade. He graduated from Eastmoor High School in 1982, went to Wright State for two years, moved back to Columbus and did a summer production of ‘Godspell’ on Ohio State’s campus. He soon transferred to OSU. In 1987, Connell went to graduate school at the University of California, San Diego.

“It was at UCSD that my professional career as an actor found it’s start,” he said. “I performed in many productions at the La Jolla Playhouse. By the spring of 1990, I was a working actor living in New York City.”

He also taught at Marymount Manhattan College on Manhattan’s Upper East Side for 24 years.

“I ultimately transitioned from a life on the road as an actor to the steady life of a professor,” he said.

Then family brought him back to Ohio.

“I was losing family and felt the need to reconnect with everything Ohio,” he said. “In 2008, my husband, Christopher Stokes Moseley, and I searched for a historic property in central Ohio. He found the home we currently own here in Newark. Everyone knows it as the Michell House that they used to sled at when they were a kid. We call the property Ball Hill to honor the notable architect George Ball Jr. who designed and built our house in 1929. We are currently in the never-ending process of re-creating and renovating the 3-acre property.”

“We’re branding the home to do two business ventures: Un petit mariage dans un pavillon (petite weddings) at Ball Hill The Estate and an Antiquities & Fine Art boutique at Ball Hill The Arcade,” he said. “With The Arcade we hope to further reach the community by championing the works of quality painters, photographers and sculptures, amidst the craftmanship of antiquities. We hope to do book signings and small events collaborating with restaurants and other tenants in the newly renovated Newark Arcade.”

Along the way came Weathervane Playhouse. For three years Connell directed summer productions. In 2016, he took over as managing artistic director.

“Working at Weathervane helped me to ‘come home’ and to share in the life of my family,” he said.

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Connell’s time at Weathervane ended in 2019. Still, it was at Weathervane he met Susan Larson, the executive director of the Newark Granville Symphony Orchestra. He’s now vice president of the orchestra board.

“Kevin brings to the NGSO a wealth of experience from his years as a theatre director, educator and arts administrator,” Larson said. “His unique talents are invaluable for our organization and community at large. Kevin’s enthusiasm for the arts is contagious and we are so lucky to have him as a great friend and collaborator. We are extremely fortunate to have him on the NGSO board of directors. His experience and enthusiasm for the arts makes us and our community better.”

“Do I have regrets?” Connell responded with a question. “Yes. Have I learned lessons? Yes. Do I still have room to grow? Yes. Do I still have life to give? Yes.”

Aces of Trades is a weekly series focusing on people and their jobs — whether they’re unusual jobs, fun jobs or people who take ordinary jobs and make them extraordinary. If you have a suggestion for a future profile, let us know at [email protected]. 

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Newark Aces of Trades: Kevin Connell follows passion for the arts