Theatre is a multifaceted experience allowing us to express ourselves through collective storytelling, education, and entertainment. It allows our students a platform for expression and creativity through acting, song, dance, lights, sound, painting, and much more.
Our Theatre at GJHS has a long standing history of bringing arts into the valley and I am incredibly proud to be a very small part of that legacy with these students. Theatre helps to foster a sense of community, and brings us all together to share in a collective experience; audience and performer alike.
Our Theatre Toupe is incredibly excited to be starting 2024/2025 school year in a brand new space, with new technologies and spaces for students to learn and to grow, much of this excitement stems from our brand new theatre and scene shop, where students will have the opportunity to practice their chosen craft in the Theatre Arts in Technical Theatre or Acting (sometimes both!). This will be the first time that the theatre, the scene shop, dressing rooms, green rooms, costumes, make up, and classroom will all be in one space, meaning students will have immediate access to all things that they will need in the Theatre.
The new auditorium features over 1400 seats for audience members to fill, with 1178 being at ground level, and the rest filling our new balcony. The purple of the Theatre represents the Academy that Theatre Arts is a part of, as well as brings a calm atmosphere just before a show is about to begin. It also serves to help absorb light better, allowing the actors and audience to immerse themselves in to the story that is unfolding on the stage. Our stunning new lobby allows for a beautiful view while audience members purchase tickets or snacks from our ticket booth.
Within the realm of technical Theatre you have students that focus on what makes a show tick; lights, sound, costumes, make-up, scene and set pieces, etc. Students will have access to a brand new lighting and sound board in which to flex their creative muscles and make shows as beautiful as possible. The Theatre comes with a motorized rigging allowing for students to seamlessly move curtains, sets, and backgrounds during the production without the dangers of a rope and pull fly system. Costumers and Make-Up artists will also have new spaces in the basement of the theatre as with our new costume shop and make-up room.
Actors will have a brand new stage in which to ply their trade, with a wider stage as well as new microphones and monitors to allow them to always have their head in the play. Our audiences will feel closer than ever with the theatre being two stories and the height of the stage being shortened. This will be immensely beneficial to our Improv Troupe, The Jolly Junctioneers, as we aim to begin live audience performances. Students will have access to dressing rooms in the basement of the theatre, allowing for comfortable quick changes and storage.
Actors and technicians will have two opportunities during our theatre season to experience a live show, as well as various smaller productions throughout the year. We will be opening this year’s Theatre season in the Fall with the comedy play “She Kills Monsters”; which tells the story of Agnes, a “normal” woman who loses her parents and little sister, Tilly, in a car accident. Agnes embarks on an adventure to get to know her sister better by playing a Dungeons & Dragons game that Tilly had written, and discovers things about her sister, and herself, she'd never imagined. While a sad premise, the story is packed with action, adventure, disgusting ogres and an inspiration to the warrior in all of us. Show runs November 8th-9th.
We will follow up with our Spring show; Jekyll & Hyde, a musical based on the novella of the same name by Robert Louis Stevenson. “Jekyll & Hyde” is a moving and emotional musical that captivates audiences with its powerful storytelling, complex and flawed characters, and hauntingly beautiful music. The music itself is a combination of classical, rock, and pop to blend together a unique and morose score that is as evocative as it is powerful. The show is known for it’s gothic atmosphere, allowing for dark lighting and classical costumes. The show will open in March.
I have been in theatre in the Grand Valley for as long as I can remember, and it has given so much to me. For a long time, it gave me a job and means to take care of myself. But, truly, Theatre and the Performing Arts gave me empathy, love for my fellow man, and a confidence that I lacked before I stepped onto a stage. Performing Arts is not just a hobby, but an something that can truly change lives, allowing you to step into a new world, and a new way of thinking. An art that truly explores what makes us human, that dares us to look into the void of an audience and do the scariest thing on the planet; to be vulnerable and honest.
Within technical Theatre students focus on what makes a show tick; lights, sound, costumes, props.