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The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Patty Craft — Tue, 09 May 2023 21:17:20 +0000

The International Thespian Festival (ITF) main stage showcases the best of the best of student performances in school theatre. In 2023, the musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood hits the stage with Thespian Troupe 1794 of Floyd Central Theatre Arts.

Come behind the scenes with director Brooklyn Chalfant. If you’re already registered for ITF 2023 you’ll get to see this show. (Registration is closed at the time of this post.)

A Q&A with the Director of Edwin Drood

DRAMATICS: Why this show right now? What considerations were made in your selection process?

BROOKLYN CHALFANT: Our student performers are extraordinary singers and dancers, so I found a musical that would challenge them as actors. This one has rich characters and music, and has more than 30 possible endings! The audience chooses by vote at each performance which ending they do. The technical crew, performers, and musicians all had to be completely focused and prepared to follow the audience’s decision.

Choosing a show that challenges the students’ weaknesses may seem counterintuitive; typically directors highlight strengths. But one of my goals as a theatre educator is to never be comfortable. Growth happens in the challenges.

It’s been such a rewarding experience watching these students rise to the challenge. They exceeded all expectations by securing a spot on the ITF main stage!

DRAMATICS: Please finish this sentence: You wouldn’t know it but…

CHALFANT: You wouldn’t know it, but our entire production crew is students. Our technical theatre director and teacher, Mr. Jared Willis, and I work to ensure that the tech students are trained and empowered to run all technical aspects of the show.

Then there’s a team of student carpenters that Mr. Willis leads that built the set. I worked closely with our student charge artist and her painting team to bring the Music Hall Royale to life through professional techniques I learned at Cobalt Studios. Our lighting, sound, and props designers are all students as well! During the show, the student stage management team keeps everything running, while our deck, fly, and wardrobe crew make sure the magic takes place behind the scenes. For this show, our crew is actually larger than the cast! They are such professionals.

You also wouldn’t know it, but this is the first show for some of our student performers. One of the best things about theatre education is that it welcomes everyone. So while some of our performers have been doing this since they were quite young, others tried it for the first time in this show and even earned leading roles.

DRAMATICS: What do you want readers to know that we haven’t asked?

CHALFANT: The Mystery of Edwin Drood is weird and quirky. Yet, it’s a perfect show for thespians who love all things metatheatrical and audience interaction. Insider Tip: If you want to get involved with voting on the ending for the performance you see, be sure to sit in an aisle seat!

For ITF 2020, our seniors had earned the privilege of bringing Guys and Dolls to the main stage at festival. Then COVID restrictions resulted in cancellation of the in-person event and festival was virtual. It’s been cathartic for them to have a chance to return and fulfill that dream from their freshman year. They’ve encouraged the other students in the program through the process, too.

Plus, this is my first ITF main stage appearance as a director. I’ve only been teaching theatre for three year. It’s been a career goal of mine since I was a teenage thespian to have a show on the ITF main stage! After festival, it’s time to start dreaming again.

Our Floyd Central Theatre is active all over social media. You can find us on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Patty Craft is Dramatics.org content manager.

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Mean Girls: High School Version

Patty Craft — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 18:04:41 +0000

The International Thespian Festival (ITF) main stage hosts the most outstanding productions in school theatre. In 2023, Mean Girls: High School Version will be performed by Thespian Troupe 6896 from J. J. Pearce High School (Texas).

Cady Heron may have grown up on an African savannah, but nothing prepared her for the wild and vicious ways of her strange new home: suburban Illinois. How will this naïve newbie rise to the top of the popularity pecking order? By taking on The Plastics, a trio of lionized frenemies led by the charming, but ruthless Regina George. When Cady and her friends devise a “revenge party” to end Regina’s reign, she learns the hard way that you can’t cross a queen bee without getting stung. Adapted from Tina Fey’s hit 2004 film, Mean Girls took Broadway by storm and will leave you seeing stars.

Here’s a peek behind the curtain with director Heather Biddle. (At the time of this posting, you can still register for ITF and see this production live and in-person!)

DRAMATICS: Why this show right now? What considerations were made in the selection process?

BIDDLE: The story in Mean Girls: High School Version is important to be told right now because we live in a society where people feel protected to say whatever they want online. We have forgotten that behind the screens are real people with real feelings. Mean Girls might not only be about social media its perils, but it plays into the larger message very clearly: that everyone is dealing with something. We never truly know what is going on with others.

DRAMATICS: Finish this sentence. You wouldn’t know it but…

BIDDLE: If you’re thinking of producing this show at your school, we highly recommend using Broadway Media for the projections. Their products make it so easy – you could do the entire show with only a cyc and some tables. Scene changes are seamless and Broadway Media makes it so easy for your audience to imagine that they are in the world of the show. Borrow rolling tables and desks from your school’s cafeteria and your set budget it minimal!

Additionally, costumes for this show are so simple, if you have any parents who are collectors, I can guarantee they have all the costumes you will need. Bonus points for chunky belts, Doc Martens, and tank tops over t-shirts.

DRAMATICS: Tell us about the unique creative process you had during the rehearsal period.

BIDDLE: We are without a theatre for the next 18 months, so we blocked the entire show in other areas of the school, like a locker room, a gym, a hallway, and other non-theatrical spaces. We rented the Allen Performing Arts Center for our performances, and because of these challenges, tech week was only the third time we had been on a real stage during our entire rehearsal process.

We would be remiss not to thank to our wonderful friends at Richardson High School (our district neighbor school) for letting us use their theatre a few times before our tech rehearsals began. The lesson we learned is this: You do not need to have a traditional stage if the story is good. The story and your company will make it all work!

Patty Craft is content manager for Dramatics.org.

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Lend Me a Tenor

Patty Craft — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 17:04:30 +0000

The main stage at the International Thespian Festival (ITF) shines with the best in high school theatre. In 2023, Lend Me a Tenor will be performed by Thespian Troupe 1470 from Mount Vernon High School (Iowa).

Set in September 1934, Lend Me a Tenor follows the story of Saunders, the general manager of the Cleveland Grand Opera Company, who is primed to welcome world-famous singer Tito Merelli – known as “Il Stupendo,” the greatest tenor of his generation – to appear for one night only as the star of the opera. Tito arrives late, and through a hilarious series of mishaps, is given a double dose of tranquilizers and passes out. In a frantic attempt to salvage the evening, Saunders persuades his assistant, Max, to get into Merelli’s costume and fool the audience. Madcap, screwball hijinks ensue, guaranteed to leave you teary-eyed with laughter.

Mount Vernon High School’s Troupe director, Tom Stephens, took us behind the scenes. (At the time of this posting, you can still register for ITF and see this production live and in person!)

DRAMATICS: Why Lend Me a Tenor now? Why this show for this season?

STEPHENS: “COVID obviously impacted the ability to offer programming in the arts everywhere. We lost our spring production in 2020 and have slowly built our theatre department back with virtual audiences, masked actors, and small cast shows just like everyone,” he says. “This year, when it finally felt like we’ve regained a sense of normalcy, we wanted to do something lighthearted, engaging, and just plain fun. Nothing beats a farce, and Lend Me a Tenor is one of the best. Full live audiences were welcomed back to our performing arts center to enjoy the escape that only live theatre can offer.

DRAMATICS: Please finish this sentence. You wouldn’t know it but…

“I’m a big baseball fan. In fact, it’s my goal to take my son to see all 30 MLB ballparks (we’ve made it to 20 so far). Lend Me A Tenor is set in Cleveland in 1934. In 1932, the Lorain–Carnegie Bridge opened, featuring the eight Guardians of Traffic art deco statues (the namesake of the newly re-christened Cleveland Guardians baseball team). Our hotel suite set features a large black and white photo of one of these Guardians as a period-correct nuance and also as a nod to my personal interests. IYKYK.

Another fact you likely wouldn’t know is that we’re a very small school with only 440 students. Performing on the ITF main stage is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us. I credit the work ethic of the students and the amazing support of our community. We are so humbled and appreciative of being included in this year’s #ThesFest and can’t wait to see everyone in Bloomington!”

Patty Craft is content manager for Dramatics.org.

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Summer Theatre Experience

Patty Craft — Fri, 26 Aug 2022 17:23:18 +0000

The summer theatre experience for three students in Thespian Troupe 1826 at St. Cloud High School in Florida was A-MAZING! They went to the heart of the NYC theatre district and participated in workshops, Broadway shows, and made lifetime memories.

This adventure was made possible, in part, thanks to the fact that St. Cloud has two theatre teachers—Mr. Scott Schoonover and Mr. Alex Moore—focused on guiding students to create authentic portfolios about their theatre work and education. Here’s what the students told us about their participation in the Springboard to Design offered by the American Theatre Wing during the summer of 2022.

Summer Theatre Experience in NYC

Robyn Tindall (She/They)
Tindall is a Junior at St. Cloud High School and has been involved in theatre since her sophomore year.

The most surprising and useful lesson that I learned was that it is often best to avoid specializing as long as you can. To continue to generalize learning until you absolutely have to [choose a specialty]. This way you can learn about other things in life that you may enjoy. You can apply those other lessons to your craft.

(l to r) Alejandra Duarte, David Zinn, Robyn Tindall, and Faith Gonzalez in NYC, Summer 2022

The most unexpected experience for me was being able to meet the absolutely wonderful Rachel Hauck and extraordinarily talented David Zinn. These two are people in the design world that I look up to the most. Meeting them was an extreme honor. I was also able to meet and learn about a bunch of new artists whose work I knew but not their names. Each of them just as inspiring as the last!

My view of technical theatre, and theatre overall has shifted. I have a better understanding and appreciation for the design process and the collaboration that happens both on stage and behind the curtain. It is truly beautiful.

My biggest realization is that no matter what there is a space for me. This [experience] has shown me that I don’t have to prove that I deserve my space. I deserve it because I am willing to use it.

Summer Theatre Experiences Packed With Surprises

Alejandra Duarte
Duarte (she/her) is a recent graduate of St. Cloud High School and recently designed The Diary of Anne Frank at SCHS.

The most surprising lesson was how different each designer’s path was. Some knew exactly what they wanted to do, went to college for it, and ended up where they are now. Some had no idea what they wanted to do and bounced from place to place until they found where they fit. Some thought they knew what they wanted only to end up doing something completely different. Some went to college, some did not. It is comforting to know you do not need to have everything perfectly planned out.

The most unexpected experience was creating the collages we did before arriving at the program. We were told to make a collage about The Wiz. The collage could be about anything from the show. Then on the first day we discussed our collages and I saw so many different interpretations. I had not considered so many options when making my collage.

(l to r) Alejandra Duarte and Faith Gonzales

Getting to participate in this program about technical theater inspired me to continue my own theater journey. I signed up for the program wondering if theater was really something I could do or keep in my life in some capacity. Hearing these designers’ stories, seeing their work on stage, and being a part of a group that loved theater as much as I do helps me know I can find a way to keep doing it. The experience makes me willing to take whatever opportunities comes my way to keep theatre in my life.

My favorite part was that the program covered different aspect of costuming in theatre. We learned about costume construction at Eric Winterling’s shop. Then we learned about costume design. Everyone in the program from the designers to the students were incredible to be around. I am glad I went.

Summer Theatre Experiences that Confirm Decisions

Faith Gonzalez
Gonzalez (she/her) is a recent graduate of St. Cloud High School. She received and a Dr. Phillips Applause Award for Costume Design for SpongeBob the Musical

The most surprising lesson, and one that impacted me greatly, was experiencing the rhythm of a room. How there is never truly silence and always some sort of flow in the way a person talks or the background noises that are often taken for granted. This rhythm can be used in theatre by causing a disruption and refocusing the viewers’ attention. This fascinated me because I never put much thought into the way what I hear affects me. Now I am very aware of the noises around me and how they contribute to the overall experience.

The most unexpected experience I had was attending the “Summer for the City” event held at the Lincoln Center. It was essentially one big disco dance party! It was such a fun experience. I got to dance with the wonderful people that were in the program with me. I also got to see spectacular lighting design in action!

This program really opened my eyes to the different sectors of technical theater. When I got there, I had a good understanding of costume design and very little knowledge about other areas of design. Now I know a lot more and understand the challenges in more areas. I am confident I’ll be pursuing costume design as a career.

Patty Craft is content manager for Dramatics.org.

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