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PERFORMANCE PRACTICUM
In addition to professional classes, the Performing Arts Academy will extend the training into the vital elements of performance. Some plays will be student directed, others will be directed by guest artists or by the director of the Academy. All plays will be cast with members of the student ensemble.
Some plays are required and will be rehearsed in class, others are optional and will require a significant after school commitment. Students are required to participate in at least one production in some capacity (but may participate in all), either as an actor, technical crew, or administrative staff.
P.S. For those of you who were with us last year, we are changing the name of the "Black Box Theatre" to the "Studio Theatre".
Productions planned for next year are: (dates and shows subject to change)
PRODUCTION CALENDAR
- November 6, 7, 8 - 2009
CELEBRATION - Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt - Musical. Studio Theatre
- January 15, 16 - 2010
SENIOR IMPROV SHOW - Developed by the Senior Class - Studio Theatre
- FEBRUARY 12,13,14 -2010
LOOK HOMEWARD ANGEL by Ketti Frings from the novel by Thomas Wolfe - Main Stage (Chagrin Falls Performing Arts Center)
- March 5, 6, 7
CANTERBURY TALES - By Geoffrey Chaucer, Adapted by Andrew May - Comedy. Studio Theatre
- March 26, 27, 28 - 2010
ALICE IN WONDERLAND - Manhatten Theatre Project and Andre Gregory - Fantasy. Studio Theatre
- April 23, 24, 25 - 2010
THE THREE SISTERS by Anton Chekhov - Directed by Tom Fulton - Studio Theatre.
- May 14, 15, 16 - 2010
AGNES OF GOD - Directed by Bernadette Clemens - Studio Theatre
- Production and Plot Details Below.
2009 / 2010 SEASON
FALL MUSICAL - Nov 6, 7, 8
CELEBRATION by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt
Directed by Mitchell Fields
Associate direction by Tom Fulton
Musical Direction by Marcia Snavely
Studio Theatre.
Open to all students of the Academy, juniors and seniors.
- After-school rehearsals beginning September 22 - Technical rehearsals begin Sunday, October 25. Students must be available for all technical rehearsals and a majority of regular rehearsals to participate. Clear your schedules for this great play by the authors of THE FANTASTIKS!
- THE PLAY
A crowd-pleasing fable set on New Year's Eve, it focuses on four characters: Orphan, an idealistic and cheerfully optimistic young man, in possession of the stained-glass eye of God, who reminds Edgar Allen Rich, a wealthy but jaded old man, of his younger self; Angel, a sweet entertainer who longs to be "somebody"; and Potemkin, a Loki-like character who serves as narrator, commentator, and advisor. Surrounding them are a chorus known as the Revelers, who take on various roles throughout the action of the play, a group masked by the impersonal industrialism of their society, obediently following the rich man's demands but secretly aiding the boy who sees and respects them as individuals.
At the musical's core is the struggle between youth and old age, innocence and corruption, love and ambition, and poverty and wealth, as Angel tries to decide if she would be better served by her feelings for Orphan or Rich's willingness to fulfill her every dream.
With a set consisting of bare platforms, masks serving as the primary costumes, and a Brechtian-like score played by a nine-piece band the show is a major departure for Jones and Schmidt, whose previous work included the off-Broadway phenomenon The Fantasticks and the more-mainstream Broadway musicals 110 in the Shade and I Do! I Do!.
JANUARY 15, 16, 2010- THE SENIOR IMPROV SHOW
(Studio Theatre)
 Directed by Mitchell Fields
- This evening of advanced improvisation will be presented with members of the Academy Improv Troupe made up of Academy seniors. In the stylings of Second City.
FEBRUARY 12,13,14 - 2010
Look Homeward Angel
by Ketti Frings from tbe book by Thomas Wolfe.
 Performed on the Performing Arts Center
Main Stage
Directed by Tom Fulton
- Open to all Academy Students, Juniors and Seniors.
- Rehearsals begin December 7. No rehearsals during winter break.
- Cast must be available for extensive after-school rehearsals with minimal conflicts to participate. All cast members must be available for two weeks of technical and dress rehearsals beginning February 7, 2010.
- THE PLAY
Look Homeward, Angel is the acclaimed 1957 stage play by the playwright Ketti Frings. The play is based on Thomas Wolfe's largely autobiographical novel of the same title, which was published in 1929.
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, the production received Tony Award nominations for Best Play; Best Actor in a Play (Hugh Griffith and Anthony Perkins); Best Actress in a Play (Jo Van Fleet); Best Scenic Design (Jo Mielziner); Best Costume Design (Motley); and Best Director (George Roy Hill).
10 men, 8 women.
An authentic American classic, this powerful and vital play captures the sardonic humor and the grief, both private and universal, of Wolfe's novel about a youth coming of age. Concentrating on the last third of Wolfe's story, the play vividly portrays Eugene Gant, his mother who is obsessed by her material holdings and who maintains barriers against the love of her family, the father a stonecutter imprisoned by his failures, and the brother who never breaks away.
"One of the finest plays in American dramatic literature." N.Y. Post
"Quite simply, one of the best evenings I've ever had in the theatre.... A milestone in our time." N.Y. Journal American .
March 5, 6, 7: THE CANTERBURY TALES by Goeffrey Chaucer
 Adapatation by Andrew May
Directed by Andrew May
- Performed in the Studio Theatre
- Afternoon Junior Class: Required.
- Rehearsed in class
Students must be available for after school technical rehearsals which begin March 1.
- THE PLAY: On an April day, a group of English pilgrims meet outside Tabard Inn and are joined by the innkeeper, just outside London. They set out on a pilgrimage from London to Canterbury The group, which includes Chaucer himself, The Wife of Bath, A couple of imbecilic knights, a lover, a king, a prioress, monk and a Pardoner, travel alongside a shipman, miller, carpenter, reeve, squire, yeoman and a knight, among others. Each b egins to tell stories to each other along the way. The result is an hilarious romp of outrageous adventures, told be the group of actors to a waiting audience.
March 26, 27, 28: ALICE IN WONDERLAND
By the Manhatten Theatre Project and Andre Gregory
- Directed by Julia Kolibab
- Performed in the Studio Theatre
- Morning Junior Class: Required
- Rehearsed in Class
- Students must be available for after school technical and dress rehearsals which begin on March 21.
- THE PLAY: Not your everyday Disney version. This production is played on an empty stage with dynamic movement where actors take on not only the characters but the objects and world of the play. Everyone is familiar with Alice's antic adventures, and they are all here—but with an arresting difference. From the presumed innocence of the original is drawn a caustic and giddy revelation of the human psyche and the dark, unsettling shadows which can linger there. Freud and Jung, Kafka and Dali, all make their presences felt, in a piece of pure theatre that is full of truth, fun, terror and uncanny pertinence to our own topsy-turvy times. This ALICE is an exemplary instance of how a classic can be made 'new,' and one of the extremely rare instances of a book's being turned into a wholly satisfactory theatrical experience.
A critical and popular success in New York, as a presentation of The Manhattan Project (from the New York University School of the Arts), this exuberant, funny and strikingly pertinent version of Lewis Carroll's classic went on to enjoy the unique distinction of a record-setting world tour. Fantastic!
- APRIL 22, 23, 24, 25- THE THREE SISTERS by Anton Chekhov
Translation by the American Poet, Randall Jarrell
 Directed by Tom Fulton
Studio Theatre
THE PLAY
Anton' Chekhov's masterpiece about lost dreams and opportunities passed by. A realistic play about the decay of the privileged class in Russia and the search for meaning in the modern world, The Three Sisters portrays the passions and aspirations of the Prozorov family, the three sisters (Olga, Masha, and Irina) and their brother Andrei. They are a family trapped in their existence. Refined and cultured young women, they grew up in urban Moscow, but for the past eleven years they have been living in a small provincial town near an Army outpost. They dream desperately of returning to Moscow and identify the capital of Russia with their happiness. To them it represents the perfect life. But it never materializes for them and they all see their dreams recede further and further into the past. Meaning never presents itself and they are forced to seek and compromise in life. The Three Sisters is a play of hope and dreams, full of humor and humanity - and is perhaps the greatest play of the modern theatre. It will be performed by the seniors of the Academy, and represent the culmination of their work as an ensemble.
- May 14, 15, 16, 2010
AGNES OF GOD
- Directed by Bernadette Clemens
- Associate Direction Tom Fulton
- Studio Theatre
Open to all students
3 Characters
- THE PLAY
Agnes of God is a play by John Pielmeier which tells the story of a novice nun who gives birth and insists that the dead child was the result of a virgin conception. A psychiatrist and the mother superior of the convent clash during the resulting investigation.
The play contains three female roles. All are demanding.
Dr. Martha Livingstone, a court appointed psychiatrist, is asked to determine the sanity of a young novitiat accused of murdering her newborn. Miriam Ruth, the Mother Superior, determindly keeps young Agnes from the doctor, arousing Livingstone's suspicions further. Agnes is a beautiful but tormented soul whose abusive upbringing has affected her ability to think rationally.|
Pielmeier's plot features Sister Agnes, a young and ignorant novice of French ethnicity, molested by her mother as a child, who sings in an ethereal voice and was impregnated by an unknown entity, which makes for much of the mystery of the drama. The psychiatrist Martha Livingston interrogates her and narrates the story.
- "Riveting, powerful, electrifying drama...the dialogue crackles."-N.Y. Daily News
- "Outstanding play [that]...deals intelligently with questions of religion and psychology."-N.Y. Times
- "Unquestionably blindingly theatrical...cleverly executed blood and guts evening in the theatre."-N.Y. Post
*All production dates and titles listed are subject to change.
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Proposed Productions 2010-2011
Subject to Change. . .
Nov - THE APPLE TREE - A Musica
by Jerry Boch and Sheldon Harnickl
Directed by Mitchell Fields
Dec - SENIOR IMPROV
Second City Stylings
Directed by Mitchell Fields
Jan - THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM
COUNTY SPELLING BEE -
A Musical
Directed by Jamie Koeth
Feb - SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY
by Edgar Lee Masters
Directed by Wendy Kriss Lynne
March - ANDROCLES AND THE LION
by George Bernard Shaw
Directed by Julie Kolibab
March - CHARLIE'S AUNT
by Brandon Thomas
Directed by Mitchell Fields
April - MACBETH
by William Shakespeare
Directed by Tom Fulton
May - THE HEIRESS
Directed by Bernadette Clemens
June - TRIP TO SHAW FESTIVAL
Niagra on the Lake, Ontario
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