Life & Work with Trisha Baughman of Fort Worth, TX

Today we’d like to introduce you to Trisha Baughman.

Hi Trisha, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Time to Shine Performing Arts began its story in 2014 as a two-week performing arts summer camp for K–4th graders. That same year, I was hired by Keller ISD to help create the district’s elementary theatre program alongside five other educators. My Fine Arts Director, Kim Blann, encouraged me to launch my own summer camp program to give younger students an opportunity to perform—and that’s where it all began.

Our first summer welcomed 36 students. The next year, we grew to 68, and by our third summer, nearly 100 young performers were filling the stage with energy and excitement. As our students continued to thrive, I knew I didn’t want to lose them once summer ended.

In the fall of 2020, my husband and I officially launched a full year-round training program for Time to Shine Performing Arts, offering musical theatre classes for PreK–12th graders. We began in the ballroom of the Marriott Hotel, and by January, we had moved into our current studio space.

Now in our sixth year of full-time training, Time to Shine offers a comprehensive program including musical theatre, ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, contemporary, hip hop, small group voice, piano, guitar & ukulele, and acting. In addition, we have two performing troupes that produce multiple shows each year and tour throughout our community.

For the past three years, our T2S Troupe Elite has attended the Junior Theater Festival in Atlanta, GA, earning awards for Excellence in Acting and Excellence in Dance. This past summer was our most incredible yet—our students performed in five musicals, one play, and four technical theatre camps, while also participating in sixteen half-day camps.

Our dedicated staff of talented artists share one mission: to put kids first and create a positive, loving, and family-centered environment where every student has their time to shine.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Like any small business, we’ve had our share of ups and downs, but our biggest challenge has been space. One of my non-negotiables when searching for a home for Time to Shine was that we needed to have our own in-house theatre so we could produce shows on site without relying on rented venues. We were fortunate to find a space that allowed us to build a 145-seat theatre, and it has truly been a game changer for our program.

That said, our stage is on the smaller side, which limits the number of performers we can feature at once and the audience size for each show. Unlike traditional dance studios, finding a suitable theatre space requires large, open areas without obstructive support beams—something that can be difficult to explain to property managers or developers who may not understand the unique needs of a performing arts organization.

Still, artists are resourceful by nature, and our team has learned to be incredibly creative with the space we have. Each year, we manage to produce remarkable performances within our theatre’s walls. For our larger events—such as our Fall Showcase and Spring Production, which feature all of our students—we rent out a local high school auditorium to accommodate the scale of these performances.

We remain hopeful that one day we’ll be able to build a larger theatre of our own, but for now, we are proud of how we’ve learned to make every inch of our space work beautifully.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a proud graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where I studied acting at the Atlantic Theatre Studio and musical theatre abroad in London at Trinity College of Music. After college, I toured with Sesame Street Live, performing as Jenny the Music Teacher, and later as Rosita, the bilingual Mexican Fruit Bag, when I was on vocal rest. One of the most unforgettable experiences of my career was performing 22 out of 24 shows at Madison Square Garden as Jenny the Music Teacher—an experience that still feels surreal today.

While I loved performing, it was during that tour that I discovered my true calling: teaching. I realized how deeply I connected with children and how much joy I found in helping them discover their own creativity. In 2006, I left New York and moved to Austin, Texas, where I ran the theatre and dance school at the JCAA and taught acting and dance at several private schools. In 2010, I married my middle school sweetheart, and after our daughter was born in 2011, we relocated to Annapolis, Maryland, where I continued teaching dance, private voice lessons, and directing and choreographing productions.

In 2013, our family moved to Keller, Texas, where I joined Keller ISD as one of six educators tasked with creating the district’s elementary theatre program. During my eight years in the district, I taught elementary, high school, and PreK theatre and music, and I helped design the remote learning curriculum for the PreK theatre program.

Opening Time to Shine Performing Arts has been the realization of a lifelong dream. What began as a two-week summer camp has grown into a thriving, year-round studio that now serves hundreds of students each year.

As an educator, I specialize in directing, choreographing, dance education, and college preparation. My greatest strength as a teacher is my ability to hold students accountable while creating a loving, uplifting, and often comical environment. I believe deeply in my students—their potential, their resilience, and their capacity for excellence. My mission is simple: to push them to their highest level while ensuring they always feel supported, valued, and inspired.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
The greatest credit for our success belongs to our families. Time to Shine truly operates as a family environment, and our parents are at the heart of everything we do. We simply could not achieve all that we do without them. They volunteer tirelessly—painting sets, building props, sewing costumes, feeding kids, organizing t-shirts, and so much more. They are the reason our shows look so polished and professional, and they are the reason our students feel so supported. Our parents trust our staff to always put kids first and know that every decision we make comes from a place of love and integrity. At Time to Shine, we often say, “We don’t allow drama at drama school,” and that philosophy truly defines our culture.

Another key part of what makes our studio so special is our T2S Scholarship Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring that no child is denied the opportunity to pursue the arts due to financial hardship. Over the past five years, we have been able to send over 100 students to summer camps, support more than 50 students in attending weekly classes, and award nine graduating seniors with $2,500 scholarships to help them pursue the fine arts at the collegiate level. This fund is a cornerstone of who we are—it embodies our belief that every child deserves a chance to shine.

Finally, something deeply personal to our T2S family is our tradition of honoring those who have profoundly impacted our studio and are no longer with us. Three years ago, we lost one of our brightest stars, Kaylee Pearson, a 10-year-old member of our Troupe Performance Team who performed in Matilda Jr., All Together Now, and most memorably, as The White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland. Each year, we select one student who exemplifies Kaylee’s kindness, passion, and joy to receive the Kaylee Pearson Shine Award. Last year, we also introduced the Norm Lewis Parent Volunteer Award to honor a beloved parent who gave everything in service, encouragement, and love to our studio family.

These moments of recognition at our spring production are deeply emotional, but they capture the heart of Time to Shine—a place built on love, community, generosity, and remembrance.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.time2shinearts.com
• Instagram: @time2shinearts
• Facebook: @timetoshineperformingarts

Image Credits
Makala Pollard, Cole Creative Concepts
Julia Spoon, T2S Administrative Asst.