Claremont teacher dives into acting after Citrus College career
Toby Guebert had no interest in acting for most of his life. Born and raised in the small town of Red Bull, Illinois, Guebert studied Spanish at the University of Illinois.
“Teaching allowed me to use that language as my career,” said Guebert, who taught high school Spanish in Illinois and Missouri before returning to the University of Illinois for a master’s degree in Spanish Literature.
“I then taught beginning-level Spanish as an adjunct instructor at colleges in Minnesota and North Dakota while looking for a tenure-track position at a two-year school,” he said.
After returning to the University of Illinois one more time to add a master’s in Teaching English as a Second Language, Guebert was hired at Citrus College in Glendora and moved to Claremont in 1998.
In 2004, Guebert began working as a background actor in commercials, TV shows and movies, describing it as a side hustle.
“I was fascinated by all the work that went into creating mass entertainment, and eventually decided to transition from background to foreground actor,” he said. “When I decided to pursue acting, I took an acting for the camera class at Citrus College, where I worked for 25 years. I have also taken some drop-in improv classes. Most of my education in acting has come from being cast in student films and local theater.”
Prior to 2012, Guebert’s acting had been limited to roles in student films. That year Citrus College produced “The Bronze Star,” a play written by Bruce Solheim, a history professor at the college. The play deals with a gay soldier who served in Vietnam.
“Bruce asked me to audition for it and I was cast as a Vietnam veteran in a VA support group,” Guebert said. “There were four real-life veterans in the cast, including one who served in Vietnam, and an active-duty airman.”
After the play closed at Citrus, it was restaged in Los Angeles at a regional competition for the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.
“Even though this was the first stage production for many of us in the cast, we were awarded Best Ensemble Performance,” Guebert said. “Nothing can compare to the energy actors create when they perform before a live audience. Since that experience, I have pursued stage roles in productions near Claremont, while continuing to appear in student films.”
Guebert’s goal as an actor is to continue developing his craft. He has appeared on a number of stages throughout the region and has developed an affinity for portraying characters in Shakespearean productions.
“My greatest validation as an actor comes when a company that cast me the previous season casts me again for a bigger role,” he said.
Guebert recently ended his fourth season with the Courtyard Shakespeare Festival in Riverside.
“I enjoy working with a variety of talented and interesting people as we try to make plays written 400 years ago relevant and entertaining to a modern audience,” he said.
Guebert hopes to eventually join Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, saying that it would allow him to supplement his pension while continuing to perform Shakespeare in the Inland Valley and San Gabriel Valley.
Other companies that Guebert has worked with include Ophelia’s Jump,
Off Broadway Corona Theater and Fullerton’s Alchemy Theater. He said that he had a satisfying career in the classroom as an ESL instructor, having helped to prepare students for academic success in American classrooms. Now, having retired from that phase of his life, he is seeking representation by an agency. He also plans on continuing to support local theater, both as a performer and a patron.