East Catholic High School Drama Club Stepping Things Up

By East Catholic High School

Singing, dancing, acting. These are all things you’ll find on the stage at East Catholic High School.

Stage East is the “Drama Club” of East Catholic High School, and it open to all students of ECHS, regardless of whether they have worked in the performing arts department or not.

Each show put on by Stage East is cast based upon an audition process that involves singing, acting, and dancing. From the preliminary auditions, some students are called back to read and sing at a higher level, and the final cast list is assembled following those callback auditions.

“We’ve been lucky enough in the past years to have a talent pool and show size that have allowed us to cast all who audition,” said Director Matt Cornish, who has been working with Stage East since the fall of 2011.
Each year, Stage East takes on two productions, including a fall play, which customarily has a smaller cast and focuses on work that challenges those students specifically interested in honing their acting skills.

This fall, the students of Stage East took on William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, and presented it in our very own “Shakespeare in the park” style by constructing a stage in the space located behind the annex building. The students had a chance to see what it was like to perform as they did in Shakespeare’s day – in the open air!

This spring, the performers brought the classic American musical Anything Goes to life on the East Catholic stage.

“We’ve not undertaken a show of this size and magnitude in recent years,” said Cornish. “We’d never be able to do it without the amazing students we work with – or the dedicated parents who have become an integral part of the Stage East community.”

This musical, with songs by American Icon Cole Porter, and a script by the great comedian P.G. Wodehouse, seemed the perfect choice. There were approximately 70 students involved in this production from the cast, to the pit, to the crew. The students were challenged with a level of dance that they hadn’t been before, and they rose to the challenge!

“I have never been so proud of our students as I was at the close of this production,” said Cornish.

With these productions, the students are responsible for, or actively involved in every aspect of production. The tech crew of stage hands, light board operators, and sound technicians is comprised solely of students.

While the overall design process is conducted by the faculty and staff who oversee the program, many of the students have hands on involvement in the execution. There are students who have become lighting and sound enthusiasts, and jump at the chance to help hang instruments and run cable.

There are students who, along with a dedicated core group of parents, are diligently present at all set builds, and this year, dance and ensemble captains were appointed. They not only aided in the teaching and rehearsal of music, but in some cases took on choreographing elements of the show on their own.

“As such, our students have a real sense of ownership over the production as a whole, not simply their part, or their piece,” said Cornish. “In honesty that is the lesson I hope our students walk away with more than anything else. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, and the ensemble of actors, singers, dancers, and technicians are each important to the success of the group. Together we are a team working together to achieve a goal, and supporting each other along the way.”

In addition to the joy of working together to create something fantastic, the students really bond with one another. Working hard, and for long hours sometimes, can create strong relationships. It also provides a support system.

“In addition to making new friends, our students begin to help each other with subjects outside of rehearsal,” Cornish said. “People use their past experience to help younger students grasp classroom material, or to give support on homework. Our students become a community of not only fun, but educational and emotional support.”

One final element, and perhaps most important element, is that through Stage East, students find a voice. Theatre cannot help but increase a young person’s self-esteem.

“Through the work they do with us, they discover that they have value as part of a community, and that the contributions they make are important,” said Cornish. “Each student fulfills a role, no matter how small it may be perceived to be!”