Our young artists are proud of every single production we put on, which is why we keep a gallery to showcase all previous events.

 

Did you love a performance? Now, you can relive it. Did you miss a show that you wish you could have seen? Check it out here to get up to speed.

 

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out..

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Matthew Harris as Coalhouse in 

in the Academy's Production of RAGTIME

​

(Matthew is now on Broadway (2021) in Elton John's

GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY

​

Planning Season

2007-2008

• Developmental Research and Prospectiv

  • Curriculum Development

  • ​Planning and Staffing Prep
     

Dave Axner - Superintendent of Chagrin Schools 

Bob Hunt - Principal - Chagrin High School

Tom Fulton - Director, Academy for the Performing Art

Excel TECC Principals and Staff
Performing Arts Committee, Chagrin Schools.
 

Inaugural Season

2008-2009

• Academy Dreams

A History of World Theatre

Conceived and Developed by Tom Fulton
Directed by Tom Fulton
Assistant Direction by Julia Kolibab
Musical Direction by Marcia Snavely
Stage Management by Mandi Stevens
Set and Lights by Ben Needham
Technical Direction by Marcus Dana
Starring all members of the 2008-2009 Academy
 

• Coffee and Comedy - The Improv 

Show Scrapbook

Directed by Marc Moritz
Starring all members of the 2008-2009 Academy
 

• The Crucible 

by Arthur Miller
Directed by Tom Fulton
Assistant Direction by Julia KolibabSet and Lights by Ben Needham
Technical Direction by Marcus Dana
Starring all members of the Afternoon Academy

​

• A Midsummer Night's Dream 

by William Shakespeare
Directed by Tom Fulton
Stage Management by Mandi Stevens
Assistant Direction by Mandi Stevens, Marc Moritz, Andrew May
Set and Lights by Ben Needham
Technical Direction by Marcus Dana
 

• Movin' On

A Musical Graduation Goodbye
Directed by Marc Moritz and Tom Fulton
Stage Management by Mandi Stevens
Set and Lights by Ben Needham
Technical Direction by Marcus Dana

 

Season Three
2009-2010

• Celebration

By Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt​
Directed by Mitchell Fields
Choreographed by Wendy Kriss
Music Direction by Marcia Snavely 
Set and Lights by Ben Needham
Technical Direction by Ben Needham
Costumes by Caitlin Sandham 
 

• Senior Improv Show

Directed by Mitchell Fields
With the Class of 2010 
 

• Look Homeward Angel

By Ketti Frings

Based on the Novel by Thomas Wolfe
Directed by Tom Fulton
Set Design by Ben Needham
Costumes by Caitlin Sandham 
 

• The Canterbury Tales

Adaptation by Andrew May

from the Novel by Geoffrey Chaucer
Directed by Andrew May 
 

• Alice in Wonderland

By Lewis Caroll
Directed by Julie Kolibab and Wendy Kriss
 

• The Three Sisters

By Anton Chekhov
English Translation by Randall Jarrel
Directed by Tom Fulton 
 

• Agnes of God

By John Pielmeier

Directed by Bernadette Clemens 

​

Season Four
2010-2011

 

• The Apple Tree

music by Jerry Bock

lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, 

book by Bock and Harnick 

with contributions from Jerome Coopersmith

Directed by Mitchell Fields
Music Directed by Marcia Snavely 
 

• The Senior Improv Show

Directed by Mitchell Fields 
 

• The Heiress

By Ruth and Augustus Goetz, 

suggested by the 1880 novel by Henry James.
Directed by Bernadette Clemens 
w

 

• Waiting for Godot 

By Samuel Beckett
Directed by Wendy Kriss 
 

• The Little Prince

by  Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
Directed by Julie Kolibab 

 

• Beyond Therapy

by Christopher Durang.
Directed by Mitchell Fields 

 

• Macbeth

By William Shakespeare
Directed by Tom Fulton 

Fight Director Dusten Welch

Sound Designer - Richard Ingraham

 

Season Five
2011-2012

 

• Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Book by Hugh Wheeler
Directed by Tom Fulton
Music Direction by Marcia Snavely
Choir Direction by Youssef Hamid
Set and Lighting Design by Ben Needham
Costumes by Caitlin Sandham 
 

• The Glass Menagerie

By Tennessee Williams
Directed by Bernadette Clemens 
 

• The Senior Improv Show

Directed by Mitchell Fields 

​

• The Conference of the Birds

Based on the Peter Brooks adaptation of

Persian literature by poet Farid ud-Din Attar, 
Directed by Wendy Kriss 

 

• Much Ado About Nothing

By William Shakespeare
Directed by Mitchell Fields 
 

• The Cherry Orchard

By Anton Chekhov
Directed by Tom Fulton 
 

• Souls of the Village

Written by Dusten Welch and Julia Kolibab

With  Contributions by Tom Fulton
Directed by Dusten Welch and Julia Kolibab
Produced by Tom Fulton
In partnership with The Chagrin Falls Historical Society 

Musical  Director Marcia Snavely

 

Season Six

2012-2013

 

• Les Miserables 

Based on the Novel by

French poet and novelist Victor Hugo. 

Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg

French Language Lyrics by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel

With English-language libretto and accompanying English-language 

lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer.
Directed by Tom Fulton;  
Choreographed by Dan Hoy

Musical Direction by Marcia Snavely

Set and Lighting  by Ben Needham

 

• Hedda Gabler 

By Henrik Ibsen
directed by Bernadette Clemens 
 

• Senior Improv Show 

directed by Mitchell Fields 
 

• Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd 

By Anthony Newley and Leslie Briccusse

directed by Tom Fulton; 

choreographed by Dan Hoy

 

• A Raisin in the Sun

By Lorraine Lansbury

directed by Mitchell Fields

​

• Huckleberry Finn 

By Mark Twain

directed by Dusten Welch
 

• Wind in the Willows

By Kenneth Grahame

directed by Caitlin Van Niel 

 

Charlotte's Web

By T. H. White 

directed by Colleen Williams 

 

A Midsummer Night's Dream 

By William Shakespeare

directed by Jeremy Kronenberg 

Season Seven
2013-2014

• Cabaret 

music by John Kander

lyrics by Fred Ebb

book by Joe Masteroff

based on John Van Druten's 1951 play I Am a Camera,

directed by Tom Fulton

choreographed by Dan Hoy

Musical Direction  by Marcia Snavely

Set and Lighting by Ben Needham
 

• Picnic 

By William Inge

directed by Mitchell Fields

 

• Senior Improv Show 

directed by Mitchell Fields 

 

• Romeo and Juliet 

By William Shakespeare

directed by Bernadette Clemens 

 

• Beowulf

by a poet from the kingdom of North Umbria

Adaptation for the stage by Adam Hoffmann

Directed by Dusten Welch 
 

• The Odyssey 

By Homer

Adaptation for the stage by Adam Hoffmann

directed by Colleen Williams 
 

• The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)

 directed by Bernadette Clemens 
 

• The Miss Firecracker Contest 

By Beth Henley

directed by Dusten Welch 

 

• Dark of the Moon 

By Howard Richardson

directed by Tom Fulton 

 

Season Eight

2014-2015

• West Side Story 

Music by Leonard Berstein

Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Book by Arthur Laurents

Conceived by Jerome Robbins

Based on William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

Book by

directed by Tom Fulton and Mitchell Fields

Choreography by Jacqui Lowey

Set and Lighting by Ben Needham

Musical Direction by Marcia Snavely

 

• Arsenic and Old Lace

By Joseph Kesselring

directed by Mitchell Fields
 

• Senior Improv Show 

directed by Mitchell Fields 

 

• The Fantasticks! 

By Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt

directed by Tom Fulton
 

• Dancing at Lughnasa 

By Brian Friel

directed by Bernadette Clemens

 

• The Tragedy of Richard III 

By William Shakespeare

With sound design by Richard Ingraham

Set and Lighting by Ben Needham

directed by Tom Fulton

Season Nine

2015-2016

• The Secret Garden

book and lyrics are by Marsha Norman

Music by Lucy Simon

Based on the novel by Francis Hobsen Burnett

Directed by Tom Fulton

Associate Directed by Mitchell Fields

Choreography by Dan Hoy

Music Direction by Yourself Hamid

Rehearsal Pianist Marcia Snavely 

 

• Rhinoceros

By Eugène Ionesco,

Directed by Bernadette Clemens

 

• The Senior Improv Show

Directed by Mitchell Fields

 

• Doubt, a Parable

by John Patrick Shanley

Directed by Tom Fulton

 

• Our Town

By Thornton Wilder

Directed by Mitchell Fields

 

• Academy Dreams

A history of the world theatre

Conceived and developed by Tom Fulton

Directed by Tom Fulton, Dusten Welch, Mitchell Fields & Cody Swanson

 

• Twelfth Night

By William Shakespeare

Directed by Dusten Welch

 

Season Ten

2016-2017

• Man of La Mancha

book by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch Leigh, and lyrics by Joe Darion

Directed by Tom Fulton
Associate Director, Mitchell Fields
Choreography by Hayley Thompson and Neil Kelly
Music Direction by Marcia Snavely
Set and Lighting Design by Ben Needham

​

• The Little Foxes

by Lillian Hellman
Directed by Mitchell Fields

​

• The Senior Improv Show

Directed by Mitchell Fields
 

• You're a Good Man Charlie Brown

Charles Schultz
Directed by Sara Bogomolny
 

• Julius Caesar

By William Shakespeare
Directed by Dusten Welch
 

• The Women of Lockerby

Directed by Wendy Kriss
 

• Quothe the Raven

Edgar Allen Poe
Directed by Cody Swanson
 

• Myths and Monsters

Directed by Dusten Welch
 

• The Night of the Iguana

by Tennessee Williams
Directed by Tom Fulton

 

Season Eleven

2017 - 2018

• RAGTIME
  Based on the Novel by E.L. Doctorow
  Music by Stephen Flaherty
  Book by Terrance McNalley
  Directed by Tom Fulton
  Associate Director, Mitchell Fields|
  Choreography by Sara Bogomolny
  Music Direction by Marcia Snavely
  Set and Lighting Design by Ben Needham
  Makeup and Technical Direction by Christine Woods
   

• Eccentricities of a Nightingale
  By Tennessee Williams
  Directed by Mitchell Fields
   

• The Senior Improv Show
  Directed by Mitchell Fields
   

• DNA 
  By Dennis Kelly
  Directed by Sara Bogomolny
   

• HAMLET
  By William Shakespeare
  Directed by Tom Fulton
   

• THE ACADEMY ONE-ACT PLAY FESTIVAL

            Radium Girls
            By D. W. Gregory
            Directed by Wendy Kriss
 

• Oh Freedom!  The story of the Underground Railway

By Peter Manos

Directed by Dusten Welch

 

• The Long Christmas Dinner

By Thornton Wilder

Directed by Sara Bogomolny

 

• Cookies

A Short Stop-Action Film

Developed by the Academy Technical Theatre Wing

Directed by Christine Woods

 

• Peter and the Starcatcher 

Based on the Novels by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

Conceived for the stage by Roger Rees and Alex Timbers

Book by Rick Elice

Music by Wayne Barker

Directed by Dusten Welch

 

Season Twelve

2018-19 SEASON

 

• Young Frankenstein

        Directed and Choreographed by Sara Bogomolny

 

• The Seagull

       By Anton Chekhov

       Directed by Tom Fulton

 

• The Senior Improv Show

       Directed by Cody Swanson

 

• Vanities

       By Jack Heifner

       Directed by Tom Fulton

 

• Joe Turner's Come and Gone

       By August Wilson

       Directed by Mitchell Fields

 

• JUNIOR ONE ACT PLAY FESTIVAL

  • Riders to the Sea

By John Millington Synge

Directed by Derdui Ring

 

• Animal Farm

By George Orwell

Directed by Dusten Welch

 

• What Happens Next?

Derived Theatre Piece

Directed by Sara Bogomolny
 

• 8:00 A.M. 

A short film about a boys dream of becoming a baseball player

Directed by Ben Needham
 

• Othello

       By William Shakespeare

       Directed by Dusten Welch

 

Season Thirteen

2019-20 SEASON

 

• Into The Woods
  By Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine​​

        Directed by Tom Fulton

        Choreography by Erin Pennebaker
        Music Direction by Marcia Snavely

 

• The Cripple of Inishmaan

       By Martin McDonagh

       Directed by Derdriu Ring

 

• The Senior Improv Show

       Directed by Cody Swanson

 

• Silent Sky

       By Lauren Gunderson

       Directed by Dusten Welch

​

• Junior One  Act Play Festival

The Ghost in the Machine

(Shot on Video - Streamed Sept/Oct 2020)
 

• She Loves Me (The Broadway Musical)

       By Boch and Harnick

       Directed by Mitchell Fields​

​

• Macbeth

by William Shakespeare

Directed by Tom Fulton

This production was cancelled due to Corona Virus.  We rehearsed and filmed it on Zoom and released it in March of 2021 after 8 months of editing.

​

Season Fourteen
2020-2021 SEASON

This season was virtual to accommodate the Corona virus.  For the first three quarters we taught virtually on Zoom.  The last quarter we taught live..  No live shows this year. instead we purchased film and radio equipment and had a season of films and radio plays as follows:

​

• War of the Worlds 

by H.G. Wells

Adapation by Orson Wells 

& The Mercury Theatre Company

Directed by Dan Hendrock

Sound Artist - Richard Ingraham

RADIO PLAY

​

• A Christmas Carol

by Charles Dickens

Radio Adaptation by Tom Fulton

Directed by Tom Fulton

Sound Artist - Richard Ingraham

RADIO PLAY

​

• Senior Improv Show

Directed by Dan Hendrock

RADIO PLAY

​

• The Laramie Project

by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project

Directed by Dan Hendrock

Co-Director and Editor - Ben Needham

FILM
 

• Macbeth

by William Shakespeare

Directed by Tom Fulton

Senior Editor - Sam Roter

Associate Editor - Tom Fulton

FILM

​​

• The Importance of Being Earnest

by Oscar Wilde

Adapted for Radio by Tom Fulton

Directed by Tom Fulton

Sound Artist - Richard  Ingraham

RADIO PLAY

​

• The Masked Bandit

(A who-done-it mystery)

by Justine Wienans

(Academy Alum)

Directed by Dan Hendrvock

Conceived by Ben Needam

Shot and Edited by Dan Hendrock

​

​​

Season Fifteen
2021-2022 SEASON

This year, we were back full time.  Students were required to wear masks, but could remove them while performing.
 

• Eurydice

by Sarah Ruhl

Directed by Dan Hendrock

Cinematography by Ben Needham

October 29, 30, 31

​

• Blithe Spirit

            by Noel Coward

Directed by Tom Fulton

December 10, 11, 12​
 

•           Improv Show

Directed by Ryan  Santa

Directed by Dan Hendroc

December  14, 15
 

•            The Three Sisters

Directed by Tom Fult

Associate Direction  by Mitchell Fields

March 4, 5, 6
 

• One Act Play Festival​

Directed by Derdrui Ring

Directed by India Nicole Burton

March 16, 17
 

• Sunday in the Park with George

by Stephen Sondheim

Directed by  Dan Hendrock

Music Direction by Marcia Snavely

Sound Design by Richard Ingraham

May 4, 5. 6. 7

​