Few performances can rival Broadway. But, probable twelve to seven, the annual musicals at Staples High School are in the running (say bona-fide industry folk, not just proud moms and dads). Pretty much every Staples Players production is a smash hit, this past fall’s Guys and Dolls being no exception.
From an audience perspective, it’s easy to forget you’re in a school and the entire point is to teach kids. And this is what makes Staples Players (SP) fascinating.
The brainchildren of these shows for the past 23 years are director and former Player David Roth ’84 and his wife and co-director, former Player Kerry Long ’87, who joined him several years later.
That David and Kerry consistently shake stardust from each script and student is remarkable. After learning they’re working with Paleolithic equipment makes it borderline miraculous (which I’ll get to later).
Indeed, they make many strata of magic. But I was really curious about the practical magic, the physical exertion required to make an SP show shine, focusing on the perennially much-awaited fall musical.
A bit about SP. Boasting a number of talented and committed leaders throughout its 66 year history, SP was founded by English teacher Craig Matheson in 1957. One of his original members was Christoper Lloyd of Back to the Future and Taxi fame.
Nine years later, Craig was promoted to vice principal and tapped Al Pia for his former position, who stayed for almost 30 years. In 1996 Judy Luster took the helm, then David and Kerry.
During the summer, this couple, with input, determines the Big Fall Musical. Parameters are: around 60 cast members to include numerous students and a well-known crowd-pleaser so people buy tickets. Also, crowd-pleasing musicals tend to be excellent musicals.
After this comes a bunch of administrative stuff; renting scripts, scheduling, etc. Then auditions, call-backs, and casting. But this is a small part of the squadron. Behind the scenes is an army of everyone else, including students and adult volunteers.
And while cast members are learning their roles onstage, crew members are learning their roles backstage.
Students, literally run the show. According to Kerry, “During the show, there is a stage manager calling the show from the lighting booth, two senior managers running the lighting board, two ‘side’ managers backstage, one each on stage left and stage right, in charge of running the crew and cast.” There are also costume and microphone quick-change assistants and a set crew, led by student managers.
Every cast member is required to paint sets and pitch in with crew work (sets, lighting, costumes, props). “We want to cultivate kids who want to do theatre, not necessarily create ‘stars.’” David explains.
As well, the adults are critical to the shows in numerous ways. They sell candy during intermission, help build sets, mentor students selling ads, arrange meals and snacks for hungry show folk, drive kids around town to post signs, and help build the mother-lode of sets and costumes. “We’re lucky enough when we do a show it’s a community event,” David states.
Leading other facets of the show are costume designer Christie Stanger, tech director Jeff Hauser, music director Luke Rosenberg, choreographer Rachel MasIsaac Myers and fall music director Don Rickenback. They teach students and manage the massive volunteer force.
.Why so many people? Consider one aspect of the show: costumes.
Christie works with a team of 20 students plus whoever “pops in,” and parent volunteers. They create mood boards to kick off the design process. “The ideas blossom and we work right up until closing night making sure everything works as planned,” she explains. Which is an effective way of making a boatload of work sound like a field of daisies.
Guys and Dolls needed 135 costumes. Some were custom-made, some started with pre-fabricated pieces (gambler’s suits, Havana costumes) and each had to be altered, embellished, accessorized and fine-tuned. The “Take Back the Mink” number alone required 13 dresses, each taking over ten hours to make.
They also creatively figure out resourceful solutions. Christie says, “We have a large collection of costumes, accessories, notions, and crafting materials accrued over the years, but we also purchase things online and/or at local stores. I also use the Westport Gifting Economy to source items for free, whether those be toilet paper rolls we used to make the Beauty School Dropout hats for Grease or shoes or other items I think the community might have to give.”
During show week they set up rows of ironing tables and steamers to freshen all 135 costumes before every show. They’re prepared to repair split seams, re-glue crystals, mend feather boas: whatever needs to happen to make the cast look terrific. Then they clean everything up, ensuring all buttons, gloves, and pocket squares are organized and labeled.
Now imagine a similar amount of work for tech, sets, music, and everything else. Because every piece of it is vital for the show.
Want to know what else is? A stage.
The Staples stage is 30 years old. Its technology is so outdated they rely primarily on refurbished parts. Certain types of lighting are no longer possible, and the fly system is so antiquated it must be run by a professional rigger for around $100/hour.
Not only does the near-obsolete equipment create obstacles for Kerry and David, it creates missed opportunities to teach the kids certain backstage skills.
So beneath the glamor of the shows is business.
Unlike many other programs and groups, these students are learning real-world skills in professions they may later pursue. They’re learning how to work in a team, manage a team, and be a standout star with the understanding it wouldn’t be possible without hundreds of people. And they’re seeing their accomplishments with every show.
According to Kerry, “During the show, there is a stage manager calling the show from the lighting booth, two senior managers running the lighting board, two ‘side’ managers backstage, one each on stage left and stage right, in charge of running the crew and cast.”
Staples Players are everyone involved in performances, from pit musicians to set designers. Staples' comprehensive theatre department teaches tech theatre, directing, acting, stage management, sound, and every other facet of throwing a show. (Fall, musical; February, smaller show; April, one act festival; May, black box; June, production in Toquet Hall.)
StaplesPlayers.com
For information on the Staples Players themselves, read a wonderful 2016 article by Jill Johnson Mann