by Katerina Brabson 

Editor In Chief 

Every semester, the drama department puts on a spectacular show with intricate sets, modern costumes, and catchy show tunes. Shows ranging from the School of Rock to Cats have been performed on the Mary Harrison stage. Behind the scenes, however, the theater room is a bustling environment full of line checks, monologues, and auditions. Here’s what the Patriot Players have been up to, a look into past shows, and what’s yet to come. 

The set of the Putnam County 25th Annual Spelling Bee.

The theater department has its own separate wing in the Mary Harrison Center from NHS with a built-in workshop for designing sets. The classroom is not your typical classroom. An open floor allows students to perform in front of the class with their peers watching from a platform miming how an audience would sit for a show. Blocking marks are written out in bold red markers on a whiteboard at the front of the room. A large television is set up in the corner, and used for watching past shows or choreography. The room has an overall collaborative atmosphere fit for a team of actors, singers, and dancers. 

The unique classroom style allows for a collaborative space within the class.

Students who are normally quiet in their core classes come alive in Ms. Sparks’ room. For senior Josh Wilson, joining the theater department was a breath of fresh air. “I wanted to do something outside of my comfort zone and meet new people and try new things. It’s actually a great opportunity that I got to do (perform in the fall show), I learned a lot about myself and it’s just a fun thing to do.” 

In the fall semester, the Patriot Players put on a show called “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”. Six eccentric teenagers compete in a spelling bee, run by three equally eccentric adults. The show takes the audience through each character’s life, their motives for entering the bee, and why they want to win the competition. Through hilarious monologues and effortless wit, the musical comedy is able to make light of current issues that plague society such as racism and poverty. Wilson played the character Mitch Mahoney, an ex-con doing community service as the comfort counselor in The Bee. “Opening night was amazing, the adrenaline was going and I was so excited to just perform and sing again. I was a little nervous, but after I got on stage, I started to just have fun with it,” said Wilson. 

Junior Elizabeth Gable, portrayed Rona Lisa Peretti, one of the adult moderators of the Spelling Bee and a very successful realtor in the county. As a winner of the Putnam County Spelling Bee herself, Perotti reminisces about the ‘good old days’ with the present-day contestants. “My favorite show I’ve been in is the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” said Gable. “It was such a fun show to perform and everyone in the cast and crew were phenomenal to work with,” she said. Not only was Gable able to showcase her wonderful acting skills, but also her talented singing voice in some of the show’s musical numbers. “The most stressful part of a show for me is right before the show when the show is right around the corner and it’s nerve-wracking to know it’s almost time to perform,” she said. Despite the nerves, Gable delivers a stellar performance every time she walks onto the stage. 

Junior Elizabeth Gable has always enjoyed the spotlight.

Behind every show, is an original and productive choreographer. Sophomore Ryan Starr is tasked with creating each dance number for the shows.. As a full-time dancer outside of school, he enjoys the process despite its strenuous nature. “First, I listen to the song on repeat until something comes to my head. Sometimes I have to listen to it 15 times before something comes into my head,” he said. Starr can be found in the hallway outside of the drama room listening to the show’s soundtrack and coming up with different dance combinations. He uses his past choreography videos as inspiration. “Normally I make three or four combos and I showcase them to Sparks. Whichever she approves of, we build off of that style and then I teach them to the class,” said Starr. 

Currently, the Patriot Players are prepping for their next performance, “Alice By Heart”. According to MCCTheater.org, “In the rubble of the London Blitz of World War II, Alice Spencer’s budding teen life is turned upside down, and she and her dear friend Alfred are forced to take shelter in an underground tube station. When the ailing Alfred is quarantined, Alice encourages him to escape with her into their cherished book and journey down the rabbit hole to Wonderland.As they travel through the tale, ALICE BY HEART explores the poignancy of first love, coming to terms with loss, and finding the courage to move forward.” The dates for the production are set for February 9th through 11th. 

Advanced acting students working on a mask project for school.

While also performing in productions, senior Will Stolze also operates the sound booth. “I do acting, but that’s kind of a more recent thing because my crew role, which I’ve been doing for a couple of years, is the audio stuff. Mainly just the soundboard, and connecting audio system-related things.” Stolze only recently became familiar with the ins and outs of the sound booth but has enjoyed it so far. “I first started running the light board for a show and that was because someone was out and when they came back, I did something else. I also work after school doing all of the auditory stuff, so I’ve kind of moved around and done a bunch of things but I guess the soundboard was where the position was needed and I enjoyed it so I learned a whole bunch of things about it and then I became competitive, essentially, for that role,” he said. Besides running the auditory system for the theater department, Stolze also assists in helping record and set up mics during concerts for the choir, band, and orchestra students. 

Seniors Will Stolze and Tyler Potts working on the set of Northern Middle School’s “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”

Stolze recruited fellow crew member and light manager, senior Tyler Potts to aid him in the booth. “I joined theater because Will Stolze kind of recruited me and I thought it would be a fun idea because I wanted to get involved in building and construction but didn’t want to go to CTA for the carpentry class, so this was a way to do that without going to CTA,” said Potts. His versatility allows him to bounce around between different tasks from building sets to outfitting cast members with microphones. 

Through the years, the Patriot Players have put on a wide variety of shows and some cast members have a special performance that’s their favorite. “Mathilda was my favorite show because I got to change so many things on and off set. I got to use the fly system which was a lot of fun. Mid show, you have the fly system which is similar to a pulley system in which you raise things on and off the stage. We also got to stage manage moving things on and off the stage which was also a lot of fun. The other shows that we’re doing this year don’t have as much fly stuff,” said Potts. 

Senior Tyler Potts manning the light booth.

Senior Jayden Barbarino is an actor and crew member as well. He has been acting since elementary school and wanted to pursue his love for the stage in high school. “My favorite show so far has been The Night of the Living Dead because of all the creative aspects we added to it between the film, the dancing zombies and the set overall was just phenomenal.” The final product of performing is rewarding for the cast and crew, but there are stressful times during the rehearsal process. “The most stressful part is getting the cast to have the confidence to know that they can put on the show and to stop worrying so much about the quality but that it’s more about having fun.”

Senior Jayden Barbarino giving a monologue during class.

Outside of rehearsing for live productions, the Patriot Players are preparing for a multitude of festivals in either theater or choir. ITS (The International Thespian Society) is a competition where students showcase their acting skills through songs, monologues, and mini skits. In spite of their busy winter and spring season, these advanced actors are enjoying the process one scene at a time. 

By KatB