GREEN RIVER — After nine years of teaching English and building Green River High School’s theater program, Bradlee Skinner is leaving the classroom to pursue a new opportunity with Fans First Entertainment as a DJ for the Savannah Bananas and the Texas Tailgaters.

Skinner announced his departure after the conclusion of the 2025-26 school year, ending a nine-year tenure that saw the school’s theater program expand its productions, regularly compete at the Wyoming State Thespian Festival and earn recognition on the international stage.

During his time at Green River High School, Skinner said his responsibilities remained largely the same as an English teacher and theater director, but the scope of the theater program continued to grow.

“The only real difference was seeing a need for more opportunities for students to be on stage to perform,” Skinner said. “We continually added more productions, more shows and different types of productions to make sure students had exactly what they needed as they were preparing for either professional theater or college coursework in theater.”

Among the dozens of productions he directed, several stand out.

“‘Newsies’ was always one of my favorites simply for the sheer size,” Skinner said. “Almost 100 total students were involved in that show. That’s incredible.”

He also pointed to ‘The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical’ as a favorite but said one production stands above the rest.

“When I look back on my personal accomplishments and think about the best play I’ve ever directed in my entire career, I’ll definitely always look fondly upon ‘Bright Star’,” Skinner said. “That musical was amazing. The cast was one of the most talented that I’ve ever worked with, and they brought everything together into an absolutely incredible story and performance that I think everyone who saw that show will remember forever.”

Competition and educational opportunities also became a cornerstone of the program.

“We took students to the state-level Thespian Festival every year that I worked at Green River High School,” Skinner said. “It was a staple of our program, one that was incredibly important to the development of our students’ skills.”

Skinner said the program also attended the International Thespian Festival three times, including last summer when Green River students qualified to perform after advancing through the state festival.

“They all did incredibly well, with several receiving very high honors at that event,” he said.

While productions and awards were memorable, Skinner believes theater’s greatest impact came through the life skills students developed.

“Hopefully, whether they ever do theater again, they learned valuable skills about how to work together, collaborate effectively, communicate effectively and harness and control their emotions,” Skinner said. “Those are skills that are going to benefit them in any career they choose.”

Now, Skinner is taking those same entertainment skills to one of baseball’s fastest-growing attractions.

He said the opportunity to work with Fans First Entertainment was simply too unique to pass up.

“I’m sure I’ll return to education in the near future,” Skinner said. “This was just an opportunity that was too amazing to pass up, and I wanted to take full advantage of what it may offer.”

Skinner said he has enjoyed working alongside the Savannah Bananas organization and its other teams while collaborating with creative professionals he once used as examples for his theater students.

“It’s incredible,” he said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I didn’t want to miss it.”

Although many know him as a teacher and theater director, Skinner’s background as a DJ stretches back to his college years. He and his wife, Melissa, later founded a wedding entertainment business that grew into one of Wyoming’s leading providers.

“I’ve been DJ’ing for several years, really since college,” Skinner said. “I think what I like the most about it is it’s still entertainment. Theater is entertainment. You’re helping people have a heightened experience at their event, and the music at these events is a big part of that. I’m just grateful to be a small part of something that’s so amazing.”

Despite the new position requiring extensive travel, Skinner said Green River will remain home for now.

“My wife is still teaching at Washington Elementary, and we have no plans at the moment to move,” he said. “It’s nice to be able to come back home after each weekend of games, so right now Green River is home.”

Looking back, Skinner said recognition such as being named the Jostens Renaissance National Educator of the Year in 2019 and Sweetwater County School District No. 2 Teacher of the Year in 2020 were meaningful, but he is most proud of the educators he worked alongside.

“I’m just proud to be associated with such amazing teachers who are so dedicated and committed to helping their students be the best they can be both in and out of the classroom, on the court, on the field, wherever it may be,” Skinner said.

I don’t want to reach the end of my career or the end of life and be full of questions of ‘What if?’

Bradlee Skinner

He also hopes future students take advantage of theater, regardless of their experience.

“I think every single student should do at least one theater production in their high school career,” Skinner said. “You’re going to learn more about yourself than you will anywhere else. You’ll learn more about empathy, about love, about respect and about the human experience.”

As he begins the next chapter of his career, Skinner said a simple phrase has guided the decision.

“Each year I come up with a keyword or phrase to help focus my intent for that year,” he said. “This year my wife and I have been using the phrase ‘Why not?'”

Rather than wondering what could have been, Skinner said he wants to embrace opportunities as they come.

“I don’t want to reach the end of my career or the end of life and be full of questions of ‘What if?'” Skinner said. “Instead, I want to say, ‘Why not?’ That’s what led to this opportunity with Fans First Entertainment, and now I’m in a position where I can say yes to more opportunities that I wouldn’t have been able to before. I don’t want to miss out on what those opportunities might be.”