Written by Jonathon Millman
Suffice it to say the upcoming Seacoast Repertory Theater production of the Diary of Anne Frank has been a long time in the making.
At just nine years old Elle (pronounced Elly) Shaheen was introduced to the written version of the play, an adaptation of the famous diary account of a family in hiding under the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in the early 1940's and their deportation to a concentration camp. That play grabbed a strong hold on her then and has never let go.
Find out what's happening in Portsmouthfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Elle had actually begun acting at an even earlier age at the Seacoast Rep., playing a Munchkin and a Poppy Flower in the musical production of The Wizard of Oz. After several more years cutting her teeth in musical theater and some “straight plays”(inside jargon for non-musical theater productions) and having done quite a bit of that work with the Seacoast Rep., that hold Anne Frank had on her resurfaced.
“My mom and I had talked to Craig Faulkner who is the artistic director here at the theater, about my idea and doing it (Anne Frank) as part of the season, and he suggested that I wait till I was old enough because she (the Anne Frank character) is thirteen, fourteen throughout the story, and the first time I mentioned that to him I was probably eleven.”
Find out what's happening in Portsmouthfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
And now, several more years later, at age fourteen, the Portsmouth High School student is finally realizing her dream. Not only will she be playing the role of Anne Frank, Elle, in cooperation with the Seacoast Repertory Theater is producing the play.
But that's hardly all to this story.
Even before a young Elle first experienced the written play that so moved her, she had been diagnosed with type one diabetes. Also known as juvenile or insulin dependent diabetes it requires daily medication and constant blood sugar monitoring. She was initially assessed at Boston Children's Hospital, then referred to the Joslin Diabetes Center also in Boston which has been an integral part of her treatment and care ever since. “I think that Joslin provided a really good support system. Most of their staff had diabetes too. When I was first diagnosed I felt really alone,” she says “and there were all those people to support me.” And now she has an opportunity to give back.
“My mom and I thought it would be a cool idea to have the ticket sales go to the both Seacoast Rep and the Joslin Diabetes Center. And so we sort of proposed the idea to Craig who thought it was a really good idea.”
The Seacoast Rep had not initially planned on mounting the play but quickly agreed that if Elle could raise the base amount necessary for production they were on board. “I started that about close to a year ago, beginning of last summer, its taken quite a lot, we wrote a fund raising letter we sent out to a lot of potential investors. We sent it out... describing what I was trying to do, why I got involved in it, where the proceeds were going. So I have raised my end of the bargain... but we are trying to raise more money for Joslin.” On top of a portion of all ticket sales, monies raised beyond that initial production amount are now going to the Joslin Center.
“I'm very excited. I've been doing stuff at this theater since I was six years old and this has been my dream since I was probably eight or nine. I think here you are so close to the audience the audience really stays connected, which is why I like performing here.”
And how does Elle manage all this acting, producing and fund raising and still manage her High School studies? Well there's another part to the story.
Besides the Physical Education and performing arts credits she gets through her dancing practice, by being so active in local productions, Elle has arranged a history credit as well. “I spent a lot of time analyzing her (Anne Frank's) diary. I wrote three papers about the diary, part of summer high school work, analyzing certain parts she brings up in her diary, what was going on about the war, what was going on outside. And just her time period in general.” Further, Elle is even integrating her role as producer for the play with her studies, taking a credited entrepreneur class online and creating a mock production company based around her work getting the whole thing off the ground.
All in all it has been a long, winding road to get here it seems. Waiting years to bring this passion project to her home community, co-financing, co-producing, incorporating all this with her school responsibilities and even given back to the organization that has offered support for so many years.
In her initial fund raising letter Elle essentially tells the whole story herself: “For years, I have imagined what it would feel like to take on the role of Anne in a production of The Diary of Anne Frank. To bring my hero to life and keep her memory alive would be a privilege that I have longed for and contemplated season after season. So you can understand why I would turn to my Seacoast Repertory Theatre family when I became the appropriate age to take on this challenging role. Several months ago I contacted the Artistic Director, Craig Faulkner, and asked him to consider letting me co-produce the Diary of Anne Frank and he agreed! Co-producing means that I will be working on everything that is required to open this production from the set design to the casting from fundraising to staging. I am working with my school, Portsmouth High, and will even be earning credit at school for my work. You cannot imagine how inspired and excited I am to finally become Anne in the story that captured people’s hearts. Craig Faulkner did more than just agree to co-produce Anne Frank with me. He offered to donate a percentage of the ticket sales and any sponsorship money that I raise to the Joslin Diabetes Center. I now have a very ambitious fundraising goal in order to both produce the show and make a donation to the organization, which has supported many of the clinical trials that I have been a part of since my diagnosis.
Anne Frank has been my dream role ever since I was a little girl. She was such a strong young woman who found hope when there was only hopelessness. I believe that everyone in one way or another can relate to my hero and it is critically important that we do not forget the suffering she and so many other people endured. In the face of death, Anne was filled with life. And here it is, in the face of an ongoing battle with diabetes, spurred by her passion for theater, and inspired by the soul and strength of a young woman who courageously faced the direst of circumstances at her own young age, at long last, Elle Shaheen brings to our seacoast community, The Diary of Anne Frank.
