Staging a Change

Approximately 62o students, high school and college educators, Broadway professionals and others attended Hauppauge High School’s 4th Annual Stage the Change: Theatre as a Social Voice Conference on November 4, 2016 at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts in Brookville, New York. “Stage the Change is an extraordinary event with a beautifully simple message. I once heard that the world is like an engine with no extra parts. Every piece has a purpose to make the engine work. Everyone has a purpose to make the world a better place,” described Hauppauge High School Senior Francesco DiFlora.

The Stage the Change: Theatre as a Social Voice Conference was founded in 2012 through the Hauppauge High School Drama program after a staggering response to their original creation of The Anti-Bully Project. A series of student-written vignettes, the production was created to address important social issues to high school students, including: prejudice, bullying, peer pressure, healthy relationships and more. “Year after year, I watch students, educators and communities empowered by the use of our ‘arts voices.’ I am so proud to be part of a community that not only cherishes, but supports and encourages our student voices as we teach them to hone their passions to ‘stage a change,” described Hauppauge Theatre Teacher and Stage the Change Founder Ruthie Pincus. “It is so very important as we gather our allies in this mission to understand and appreciate the difference that we make in the lives of our students, communities and our audiences.”

The Conference featured juried Student Group Performances of: The “Feminist” Club by Hauppauge High School IB Theatre; Alternated Names for Black Boys by Success Academy Charter School, Bronx, New York; While Everyone Walks By by Walt Whitman High School Dance Program; and More to Do with Beauty by Long Island High School for the Arts. Attendees also participated in one morning and one afternoon class, which they preselected from among an impressive roster of 32 workshops or panel discussions featuring college professors and/or Broadway, theatre and dance professionals. Stage the Change was highlighted by a performance and discussion with Jeanine Tesori, the Tony Award-Winning composer of Fun Home, Shrek The Musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Twelfth Night and many others.

When asked why Stage the Change was important to him, Hauppauge High School Senior David Fresolone said, “Stage the Change was an inspiring experience that brought our real life problems into the scope of theatre. It’s about stepping back, taking a breath and realizing this is what’s happening. How can I help make it better? It’s just something miraculous!”

Photos by Frank Bayer.