Family donates $20,000 to North Allegheny High School theater department

John Woffington, who directed nearly 40 plays while a teacher at North Allegheny, is continuing his love of the stage by gifting the district’s theater department $20,000.

He and his wife, Judy, presented a $20,000 check to benefit the North Allegheny High School theater department on Jan. 3 to theater chair Bob Tozier and Superintendent Brendan Hyland.

“It was a huge surprise,” said Tozier. “It gives the kids more opportunities. Most theater departments in high schools, if not all, depend on fundraising. That kind of donation helps take the focus off of fundraising and puts it more on actual creating.”

Judy said she and her husband wanted to support and recognize the hard work of the students who participate in the theater at North Allegheny.

“The award fosters and supports an environment that values work ethic as well as talent,” she said.

John began teaching English at the high school in 1966, with Judy joining the district a few years later to teach French. They met there and eventually married, living in Marshall Township for 35 years and raising two sons in their cherished school district.

John was also a dedicated sports coach, heading the North Allegheny High School men’s tennis program from 1971 to 2009, with the final six years following his retirement. He was inducted into the school district’s Hall of Fame in 2012, according to the North Allegheny Sports Network website. And he was a junior class sponsor at North Allegheny.

But he really loved the theater, teaching acting, mentoring students and directing 38 plays.

“For many years I was coach and play director at NA, and I always had the feeling that the students who were involved in the theater productions didn’t receive the recognition that our sports participants did. Hopefully, this will be at least one small step in the right direction of balancing the appreciation of arts and athletics,” he said.

His love of theater went beyond North Allegheny, as he also established a fund with The Pittsburgh Foundation in order to support performances in the Pittsburgh area, Judy said. Both Judy and John are on the Circles Board of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

The couple, who now live in Ohio Township, want the funds to stay in the North Allegheny’s theater department as a way to recognize and thank students who participate in theater.

The department still is putting together guidelines and specifics on how the recognition will be decided and presented, but Tozier hopes the details will be available this spring. Mostly, it will honor and showcase NA graduates who have made an impact in the theater arts.

This type of donation will go a long way, Tozier said. Having the money to buy more stage equipment, for example, means that more students can participate in productions, whether onstage, backstage or playing instruments.

The Woffingtons’ sons were also involved in tennis and theater when in high school.

Jay, a 1990 graduate of North Allegheny, graduated from Duke University and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University Business School, later doing pro bono work for the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, including building a new theater, his mother said. He lives in Cincinnati with his family, still playing competitive tennis and acting.

Matt Woffington, who graduated from NA in 1993, went to the University of Richmond before transferring to Grove City, where he earned the Presidents Athletic Conference most valuable player award in tennis in 1995 and 1996. He teaches history at North Hills High School.

Both he and his wife, Kristie, are avid tennis players and live in North Allegheny School District.