“Kids don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” These words, spoken by Peter Moore, capture the heart of a teaching career that has left a profound impact on generations of students. Moore, who has taught and directed at Kings High School for nearly three decades, is known not only for his creative expertise but also for the genuine respect he shows each student. Alumni remember him as a teacher who went beyond the lesson plan, building their confidence and leaving them feeling valued.

In a profile submitted to the University of Cincinnati’s paper, Bendci Vargas—a former student deeply moved by Moore’s mentorship—captures the essence of a teacher whose dedication has touched lives far beyond the classroom. This story offers a glimpse into Moore’s journey, from his first days as a director at Kings to his upcoming adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream—a production that brings his teaching full circle, with his daughter in a starring role. Moore’s legacy isn’t simply in the lessons he’s taught but in the lasting relationships he’s built, one student at a time.

Profile Story: Peter Moore
By Bendci Vargas

Introduction

“Kids don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care,” said Peter Moore.

This might sound like a cheesy quote, but Moore is anything but cliché. He is a genuine person who makes the students he teaches and directs feel valued and listened to. Moore has worked at Kings High School for 28 years. He started teaching at 22 and directed his first play at 23. Moore began at Kings because they needed someone to teach English and Speech, but most importantly, someone to direct plays.

Moore attended Miami University and studied education, specializing in English and public speaking—though the public speaking focus was more aligned with directing.

Moore was a good fit for the position, instructing students in a way that makes them feel seen and valued. That is why alumni regularly come back to see him and his plays. Kings High School alumna Alex Taylor recently returned to help him direct his high school productions.

“I’ve always just really loved his directing style and wanted to learn from him,” said Taylor, who graduated from Kings in 2015. She met Moore as a freshman and connected with him early on. In 2023, Alex wrote a play called Greenlight, which Moore directed last year.

Confidence Given

“The issue of low self-confidence in high school students could be expressed as a problem of low self-esteem, impacting motivation and dampening students’ interest in learning,” noted George Ballane of Walden University.

Moore continues to impact students’ lives, instilling confidence in a generation where self-assurance is low due to social media and other factors. According to a survey of 17,500 girls in grades 5 through 12, the percentage of girls who report feeling confident has dropped in the past six years from 68 percent to 55 percent.

Not every student can be taught the same way, and Moore instructs students beyond the requirements of contemporary education.

“What makes listening possible is just caring. If you don’t form a relationship with a teacher based on trust and respect, and if they don’t know you have their backs, then you’re probably not going to be interested in listening to anything they have to say,” Moore explained.

“I listen to people I admire as humans; if you have a good heart and you’re kind to people, I want to soak up what you have to offer. Humanity is the quality that good teachers have.”

Directing and the Fall Play

“Mr. Moore is hands down the best teacher and the best director. I couldn’t act until I had him as a director. I’ve done shows since 5th grade, but I wasn’t a good actor until I had him,” said Senior Izzy Westlow.

Moore raises students’ expectations of themselves in his directing and teaching.

“He always has us focus on the central question for each show and what we as actors are trying to achieve throughout the story,” Westlow added.

“Mr. Moore spends days teaching and helping us understand our intentions behind every single movement and helps us with our character.”

“I would not be the actor I am without him.”

Moore directs every Fall play for Kings High School, choosing different plays each year, but only producing a Shakespeare play every four years.

This coming fall will be the fourth year, meaning it’s time for Shakespeare again.

The play is A Midsummer Night’s Dream, one of Shakespeare’s most famous comedies. While the original setting is Athens, Greece, Moore’s adaptation gives it a modern twist, setting it on Ohio University’s campus in Athens, Ohio.

The story includes multiple subplots within the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta, along with one subplot involving four Athenian lovers and another involving six actors rehearsing a play they perform at a wedding.

“My daughter has gotten involved in theater, so it was special for me last year when she auditioned.”

Every play is special to Moore, but this one means a little “more” to him. Moore has been directing plays for 28 years now, and for 17 of those years, his daughter has been alive to watch. Now that she’s in high school, she can audition in his plays.

“She had never auditioned for anything before, and I told her ahead of time, ‘I cannot help you at all. I can’t even know which monologue you’re going to audition with,’” said Moore.

“You must do it yourself. People will already talk about bias and nepotism, regardless.”

Eva Moore, a Senior at Kings High School, is playing Helena in the upcoming production. Helena is one of the four lovers in the subplot who is in love with the character Demetrius.

Demetrius is in love with someone else, and at first, nobody loves Helena. But as the play goes on, “fun things end up in her favor,” Eva said.

“Being the director’s daughter comes with pros and cons. The pros are that I’m able to talk to him specifically about certain lines or acting choices, but overall, he’s just incredible and so creative with everything.”

“My cons would be people assuming that I get my roles because he’s my dad—which is not true.”

Meaningful Relationships

“He comes to school every day, excited to be here. He is a professional. He expects a lot from his students, but he still has fun and gets it done,” said Secondary English educator and Language Specialist Tim Hicks.

“It’s a hard combination to master, but he has done it in my 24 years here.”

Moore’s integrity extends beyond his students; his colleagues see it too, and they come to him for advice, even viewing him as family.

“We hit it off right away. He’s like my brother as a teacher. We raised our kids together and had our careers together,” said Hicks.

Learning Experiences

Moore teaches others but learns from his own experiences too. Over time, he has become more efficient with rehearsal time.

“The day before opening night, we started rehearsing, and everyone had a brain freeze; everything went horribly wrong within the first three scenes. So, Mr. Moore stopped us and cracked down on everyone,” recalled Kings alumnus Ian Meeker.

Moore used to make his actors rehearse for too long, often working from September to a February premiere. To shorten that time, Moore raised the expectations he had for his casts.

Moore expects more than just talent when he casts students for his plays. He looks at punctuality, attitude, work ethic (including academics), and communication skills.

Mythology

“I’m passionate about religion and mythology, so I spend my free time learning about it. Most of my teaching day is spent on mythology,” said Moore.

“I’m trying to expose kids to the wonders of mythology through travel.”

Moore teaches Mythology I and II. For the past two years, he has taken students on trips to Greece to explore the history and mythology behind the monuments.

“As a teacher, you want open minds, and I see minds opened to a subject that most adults just avoid.”

In Moore’s mythology classes, he covers a range of topics from the Hero’s Journey to a unit on death.

“At the end of each mythology class, there’s a unit on death and dying. Students always love it. It opens their eyes to how dysfunctional we are as a culture about aging and death,” said Moore.

“It wasn’t just mythology; it was philosophy. The death unit started as my least favorite but ended up as my favorite because the whole meaning behind it was living life to the fullest,” Westlow reflected.

“Mythology ended up being the best class I’ve ever taken; his class is not only about mythology but about understanding the world around us—it’s the history and the present we live in.”

Lasting Memories

Moore always tries to leave students with something meaningful. When they graduate, he gives them a letter and a book that reminds him of them.

Even if they weren’t in one of his plays, Moore tries to leave each student with the willingness to be “open, curious, and full of wonder.”

“I try to teach them the art of storytelling.”

“It is the oldest art that we have on this planet. Myths are the mother stories, and public speaking gives students a chance to articulate their own stories and turn their lives into a story.”

“My theater students bring stories to life, and I always tell them when they are about to have their first performance, ‘Remember, this is not about you; it is about the audience. We want the audience to leave here feeling more enlightened, feeling more meaning in their lives than when they came in.’”

“We want people to go, ‘I can’t believe that was high school theater!’”

The next Kings High School Fall play is November 21st, 22nd, and 23rd.

Sources
Peter Moore: [email protected]
Alex Taylor
Ian Meeker: 513-802-8772
Izzy Westlow
Tim Hicks: 513-478-5322

• George Ballane’s Dissertation
• Wikipedia on A Midsummer Night’s Dream
• iampro.com on Confidence
• EdWeek on Girls’ Confidence