Published: Feb. 25, 2017
Some in the legal profession can also frequently be found trodding the boards
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
ndettmann@conleynet.com 262-306-5043
Andrew Gonring was a member of his high school’s theater club.
Then, he went off to college, then law school and took a break from acting.
He moved back to West Bend in 1979 and when he returned, the 1970 West
Bend High School graduate, got an “invitation” to return to the stage
and community theater.
“I can remember going down to Maxwell Street Day (in West Bend), the
beer stand at Maxwell Street Day, which used to be quite the social
gathering back then,” Gonring said. “There was a guy, kind of legendary
in the community, by the name of John Searle.”
Gonring said Searle, in a demanding tone, said to him, “’I know you
did some acting in high school. We need guys.’” “That was his
invitation,” Gonring said. The word “invitation” was used rather
loosely.
“It was more like a demand,” he said.
Whatever it was, it steered Gonring down a path that shaped the rest of his adult life — personally and professionally.
To this day, Gonring, a judge in Washington County, remains active in
the community theater. On Feb. 18, he played Judge Bucklin in the
History Center of Washington County’s dinner-theater show, “The Trial
of Freddy ‘The Fish’ Refried.”
A few months after having his attendance demanded, Gonring was on
stage with Musical Masquers and its production of “HMS Pinafore” during
the organization’s 1980-81 season.
“It was a really cool experience,” Gonring said. “It was a great group of guys. I enjoyed it.
“I’ve been doing it now for 38 years or so.”
Acting also played a role in his professional life, first as an
attorney and then a judge. He credited the theater for making him a
better trial attorney.
Gonring, who was the last student council president at WBHS, is not the only one who believes that.
“I think the one thing is when you are an attorney, you’re advocating
for a certain position for your client,” said Nolan Zadra, a recently
retired attorney in Milwaukee who hails from West Bend and participates
in community theater. “You need to express that. Besides analyzing it,
you have to take that logic and be persuasive.
“You have to convince people you’re the character you’re portraying, convince them of the story you’re telling.”
Jerry Becker, co-founder of the Hartford Players and an attorney for more than 30 years, concurs.
“When you have mastered a script and walk in front of an audience of
500 or 1,000 people, you can walk in front of them and deliver a message
with confidence,” Becker said. “It is a skill that benefits lawyers
like no other. If you can look people in the eye and deliver a clear
response, they’re going to respect you so much more.”
If you asked them how the theater made them better attorneys,
Gonring, Becker and Zadra would each tell you it gave them the
confidence to speak in front of a crowd and do so convincingly.
Gonring worked with O’Meara Law Firm for 21 years before becoming a judge.
“I did a lot of trial work,” Gonring said. “I always felt very
comfortable doing trial work. I always looked forward to the closing
arguments because it was kind of like a production.
“You got to put it all together and argue to the jury at the end. It’s
kind of like a production. That goes hand in hand with doing community
theater.”
Gonring said
at his peak he was doing three shows per year. These days it’s not as
many, but he remains as active as he can. He does so for a couple
reasons.
One, it’s still fun. Two, it’s a nice release from his day-to-day responsibilities on the bench.
“It just kind of became like family,” Gonring said. “You get to know everybody involved. I became close friends with a lot of them.
“It’s like working with family, good friends. It’s always fun.”
Like Gonring, Becker was in the performing arts early on. Becker
specializes in guardian ad litem law, or representing children who are
abused or are stuck in the crossfire in a divorce case. He got into the
theater when he was 10 years old.
His mother and father were both musicians. His father was also an attorney.
And, like Gonring, Becker took a break from acting after high school to concentrate on college and law school.
After law school, he was asked by Jim Mohr to assist in some
productions at Hartford Union High School. Soon after, the pair started
the Hartford Players.
“I don’t think I’d be as nearly as effective (as a lawyer),” Becker said
when asked what impact theater had on him. “A large part of what I do
is help parents find a better way for their children. I have to, in
essence, assess them as an audience and how I can deliver a message that
can impact that audience. I wouldn’t be nearly as good as reading
those folks without the theater.”
Zadra is a bit different from Gonring and Becker — he did it the other
way around. He was an attorney first before pursuing community
theater.
Zadra, who retired as corporate counsel for companies like US Bank last year, did his first show when he was 61.
He turned 65 on Monday.
“It was sort of a bucket list item,” Zadra said. “My kids were in the theater. It seemed like it’d be a lot of fun.”
He loved the idea of being immersed in another character, selling yourself as someone else.
“The fact that I could see them express themselves in a way that was
different from them. I thought I could do the same,” Zadra said. “I’m a
firm believer in making sure you connect with your audience and they
come away understanding what you’re trying to express.”
But, just like Gonring and Becker, Zadra had a seamless transition between the courtroom and the stage.
“The two skill sets are just so intertwined,” Becker said.
One of Zadra’s recent roles was in Musical Masquers’ “Love Letters” in the 2014-15 season.
“I love playing other roles and getting into costumes,” Zadra said.
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