MVRHS theater behind the curtain

Production students learn life skills while preparing for the musical "Anything Goes."

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The students in the high school’s theater “Production I” course are clear that behind the scenes is the place to be. The eight kids have been working away, out of sight, to bring this year’s musical, “Anything Goes,” to light. In some cases, that’s quite literally what they are doing, since some of them will be running the lights with Performing Arts Center director Charlie Esposito. But this is just one aspect they have been learning.

The class is a soup-to-nuts exposure to production. “The goal is to give kids an overarching experience of as many aspects of production as possible,” says theater teacher and director Brooke Hardman Ditchfield. “I run it just as I would any theater company, looking at the season and getting everything organized.”

An initial task was to make a production and rehearsal calendar, and learn how to create a document for a shared Google Drive that all the designers and instructors work from collectively. The group also familiarized themselves with the script, and watched various recorded versions of the show.

Ditchfield taught them how to notate blocking, staging, lighting, and sound cues that the director and stage manager need. “It’s important to have the notations as a record in case an actor forgets or a director wants to change something,” Ditchfield explains.

For lighting design, students learned how to focus lights, swap out gels (films over stage lights) to change their color, and “tell” a story with them, as they will for a scene in “Anything Goes” in which time moves from night to morning. Student Michael Waters, who has been working with lighting and sound, comments about the skills he has learned, “You can get some pretty good jobs in high school, and if you want to continue it after, there are private jobs from companies on the Island that will hire kids to help set up for events.”

Students explored costume design, considering how to outfit some 41 cast members. “We are very lucky,” says Ditchfield. “Over the past 10 years, we’ve built an extensive and fantastic costume collection. The first thing we did was go through and pull potential pieces for all the characters. In the second round, some costumes will be created.” The kids also learned to prepare purchase orders for items such as all the sailor outfits they needed to buy online.

The class embarked on the set design unit with Brad Austin, a longtime producer and assistant director, as their mentor. He came in and had production meetings with them to talk about everything from the color schemes for the paint to whether they wanted the stage to resemble the ship’s deck, bow, or stern. For reference, the kids looked at past productions and watched clips. Then they went to the drawing board and came up with their mockups; they are now helping to build the set. Austin shares, “I enjoy interacting with the students, and watching their interactions. It’s been terrific to see how kids from many different backgrounds who sometimes struggle to find a niche can come into a theater program and coalesce.”

Of course, putting on a show costs money, so Ditchfield taught them about budgeting to help them match their dreams with the realities of available funds. Students also designed the poster, and learned how to write a press release.

Two students are assisting Ditchfield as stage managers. Henry Shank says, “I’ve been trying to keep things so everybody knows what is happening. When you go to a show, you see all these people acting in front of you, all flashy. You can’t see us, but we’re just as stressed, if not more so. We’re definitely having fun, though.”

The other stage manager, William Thorton, comments, “It’s my favorite thing ever. It’s such an awesome environment. Everyone is so nice and understanding. On top of that, I get to do things I wouldn’t be able to do anywhere else. I work with Brooke and her company outside of school. It’s the best part of my day, getting to come in and work on a show, or to go to work with adults. You don’t find that anywhere else. It’s such a big opportunity. There are so many places it could branch off to in your life.”

Ditchfield reflects, “The production class teaches applicable and employable life skills — technology, use of tools, and organizational abilities in building a production calendar and scheduling. It’s rewarding to see so many kids coming out of the class with these skills that are immediately employable. That’s especially true here on the Vineyard, where the arts organizations sometimes have to bring people from off-Island. What’s so exciting is we’re actually teaching the next generation of Islanders, so they find work here and might not have to leave.”

Asked what they would like readers to understand, student Isabella Florio responds, “I think it’s important to know what we do because when people go to the play, they are just watching it and not thinking about what is going on behind the scenes.” Classmate Mabel DeRoche adds, “It’s good for people to get that there’s a lot of work that goes into it, and people dedicate their time to make sure that it plays out well.”

The class final is the actual production, which gives the students the real-life experience of implementing everything they learned and working hand in hand with the musicians and cast, which will include community members. The students will work on lights, sound, costumes, makeup, and props as an integral part of the ensemble that makes any show coalesce. Student Alicia Guimaraes explains, “The show doesn’t just happen. It’s a lot of people working together.”

“Anything Goes” will be at the Performing Arts Center Feb. 13–15 at 7 pm, and Feb. 16 at 2 pm.