Choosing the right play or musical for a high school production is no easy task. The director must consider how many volunteers are needed to help pull off such an undertaking; the makeup of the community that will hopefully buy tickets. And, most importantly, the students who will sacrifice their time to be involved onstage and backstage and when a bunch of high school kids are together anything can happen. Yet, in this age of touch-screen technology meets AI intelligence- being onstage and having to make eye contact and interact with and respond to emotions with your peers, being involved in the school play or musical prepares them for anything they may face in life. From the time rehearsals begin, schedules can change with illness and family emergencies and accidents can happen on and off stage. Every director hopes for the best but must make allowances for the worst. Little did Huntsville High School director, Meghan Phelps, realize how prophetic the
iconic phrases “The Show Must Go On” and “Break a Leg” (theatre speak for “good luck, give a good performance”) would be.
Three weeks before opening night, Preston Carroll, one of the leading performers as “Orpheus” in Huntsville High School’s production of “Hadestown the Musical: Teen Edition” was running off stage during a class rehearsal and tripped over the curtain, tearing his deltoid ligament and fracturing his fibula – literally, breaking his leg. Suddenly, major changes had to be made. Phelps says her first thought was “he is perfect for the role, we don’t have time to teach someone else.’ Her second thought was ‘The show is literally about walking through Hell – and he can’t walk!” Preston remembers his director’s first words were to reassure him that ‘it’s going to be ok. You can be in a wheelchair.” As the team dug into the lyrics, the meaning of the show became even clearer: Overcoming all odds, perseverance through all obstacles. Phelps said, “It just clicked and made the show even stronger.” Carroll tells us that making the changes in the way he acted, sang and even changing his entire life after major surgery “was probably the coolest experience I could’ve ever gotten.”
In Act One, Preston was in a wheelchair and in Act Two, when his character must walk through Hell – he was on crutches. Mike Chappell, former HHS director, said, “When I saw it, I thought, 'if you didn’t know the story, you would think Meghan Phelps did it this way on purpose.' It really brought home the message.”
Every production that was performed on the various high school stages this past Spring gave the students true life lessons. Not all of them had to make such dramatic changes as did Huntsville High School but every student onstage and backstage learned how to collaborate and work as a team. These productions prepare kids for life. Isabella Noreiga, who recently graduated Randolph School, has participated in theatre during all of middle and high school. She plans to pursue musical theatre professionally and says that the Randolph music and theatre faculty gave her valuable knowledge because they had vision and were truly so good at what they taught. Asked what advice she’d give to that student sitting in the
audience thinking “I might want to audition next time,” she would tell them to NEVER GIVE UP and to remember that you do it because you love it. She also advises to be kind and nice and respectful. “The theatre community is small. You never know who you might be in a show with or directed by one day.”
The camaraderie among the students is one of the perks of being in a high school production. In many cases, the theatre is the “safe place” for many students. Chappell says when programs include students from the entire student body the fake barriers can be torn down instantly. “The greatest paycheck was watching kids from all walks of life -who never would have spoken to each other become friends and accept one another.”
Ryan Rorick, director at Grissom High School, says, “It is so heartwarming to watch your students make friends with other like-minded students at nearby schools and watch them get so excited to go cheer on the other school’s productions. Abby Gandy, theatre teacher at Huntsville High School, says, “our theatre program makes our students not only better theatre makers but better people and community members.” And Jesse Kisor, director at Lee Magnet High School, tells us, “There is a beautiful culture of support here.
Whether we are swapping costumes, lending props, or sharing set pieces we genuinely want every single program to succeed."
Kip Driver, director of communications for Broadway Theatre League and the Tallulah Awards, is living proof of how his high school theatre program shaped his life. Born and raised in Huntsville, Kip is a 1987 graduate of Grissom High School. After participating in the theatre program at GHS, he became a professional actor appearing in Broadway National tours of Les Miserables, Cats, Cinderella and Martin Guerre. He is excited to be back in Huntsville, where he can share a little bit of what he’s learned along the way with this generation’s high school theatre students.
Every director knows that most of their students will not go on to pursue careers in theatre. Ask any of them and they’ll tell you stories of how through the years they have heard from former students who tell them, “Theatre prepared me for my career more than any other class.” These lawyers, ministers, physicians, sales representatives, retail workers, real estate agents, engineers and a host of other professionals say that what they learned by being involved in theatre helped them communicate, listen, collaborate and ask questions.
Josh Groban said it best: “You need somebody who can work on a deadline, you hire a theatre kid. If you need somebody who can take over a job in a pinch, and do it on almost zero budget, you hire a theatre kid.”
The grueling hours learning lines, music, choreography, building and painting sets, learning lights, sound and stage management all come together as we learn that often in life we face challenges. And even though we might not literally “break a leg” we do know that “The Show Must Go On.”
A brand-new awards program had its debut this May as Broadway Theatre League director, Kip Driver, took on the task of creating “The Tallulah Awards” in honor of legendary Huntsville actress, Tallulah Bankhead.
Schools can compete for “Best in Show” as the cast members have the chance to be selected as finalists for “Best Actor and Best Actress.” The two recipients are given a 10 day all-expense paid trip to New York City where they are immersed in the world of theatre with classes, workshops, rehearsals, and perform at
the prestigious “Jimmy Awards”. This year's winners are Linda Mathis from Lee High School and Lucas McMinemon from Hartselle High School.
Much like the Tony Awards for Broadway, the Academy Awards for Hollywood and the Heisman Trophy for football, the Jimmy Awards is truly the pinnacle for high school theatre students.