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Students Find Opportunity for Expression in TheaterBy Linda Carman - November 16, 2007
 | | Mount Greylock students have been involved with Shakespeare & Company's Fall Festival. |
"The play's the thing ..." and whether it catches the conscience of a king as Hamlet intended, it's catching the imagination of a growing corps of high school students, reflected in the larger ranks of those turning out for dramatic productions at North Berkshire high schools.
This growing interest is no sudden spurt, but a steady stream fed by word of mouth - urgings from friends and older siblings - and by an active group of area theater organizations for children.
Maggie Dente, a sophomore at Drury High School who plays Dorothy in the school's current production of "The Wizard of Oz," followed that pattern.
"I definitely think there's a growing interest in theater. I got involved in theatrical productions because I knew some people in a play, and they told me there was a part I should try out for - and I thought 'why not?'
"There are amazing people there, and it's a good feeling to be onstage and be whoever you want to be," she said. "It's a lot of work, definitely, but it pays off. I'd never really thought about theater [as a career] until I joined the cast, but I fell in love with it, and thought 'Wow, that's something I'd like to do my whole life. I could definitely see going to college and concentrating in musical theater."
Fellow cast member Jamie Lee McNary, a Drury junior who plays the Tin Man, attributes growing interest in theater to its accessibility in the area through groups such as Mill City Productions and Main Street Stage.
"What got me interested was the study of Shakespeare in seventh grade," she said. "I started stage managing in eighth grade, and when I went to high school in ninth grade, I joined the Drury Drama Team. Mostly I've done backstage work and acting with the school.
"It's more than fun. It's just amazing, the whole experience of being onstage and working with other students. I've gotten so much more out of it than out of sports," said McNary. "I really enjoy it a lot, and I hope to stay with it."
Newly named to head theatrical programs in all North Adams Public Schools, Leonard Radin says interest has grown steadily in the 20 years since he founded the Drury theater program, the only formal academic theater program in a North Berkshire high school.
"It's not an overnight sensation," said Radin, a local dentist. "It's the result of carefully nurturing students."
Cultural Mecca
"It's not a new phenomenon. Berkshire County has always been a cultural mecca," said Radin, who has been involved with most if not all the two dozen theater groups that are operating or have operated in North Berkshire. "It took three decades."
Radin sees the theater program as "one of the most efficient vehicles for the maturation process. The students are dependent on other members of the team, so they learn ensemble work. And theater embraces other arts - music, design, costume. For a very shy individual, theater is a socially acceptable way of communicating your emotions."
This year, 100 turned out. "That's a lot because the school has only 600 students," he said.
He chooses plays to stretch the dramatic capacities of the students, and noted that casts include a range of students, from those in special education to valedictorians. It pleases him that 10 years after graduation, almost all his students are involved in some form of theater.
"It warms my heart to see how high school students look out for the little kids. It's a real family."
Mount Greylock Regional High School in Williamstown will present "Romeo and Juliet" as part of Shakespeare and Company’s Fall Festival of Shakespeare at Founders' Theatre in Lenox tonight at 6:30 p.m., one of 10 area high schools joining in performances in the program's 20th year.
For Lizzie Fox, the senior who plays Juliet, this is her sixth year in the festival, having previously been in "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "Twelfth Night," "Heracles," "Much Ado About Nothing" and "Macbeth."
She credits these with imbuing confidence in her abilities.
"What we have to say and what we feel are appreciated. We're told to take from our own experience. It's an opportunity to use that for expression."
Robin Leighleitner, a Mount Greylock English teacher, faculty coordinator with Shakespeare and Company and mother of Lizzie Fox, said the program has "drawn so many kids in the last few years."
She has been at Mount Greylock nine years. This year, about 50 youngsters turned out for the play.
"One of the greatest things about Shakespeare and Company productions is that you can be in a production as a seventh-grader or as a senior. And if a seventh-grader walks through the halls and sees a senior, it's someone they know through the play, and they say hello."
Sense of Community
Gwendolyn Tunnicliffe, sophomore who plays the Nurse, said, "You get a sense of community that you don't otherwise, when you tend to stay within your grade."
She and the other students praised their Shakespeare and Company director Jonathan Croy, who has been with Mount Greylock students seven years, and assistant director Libby Augarten, in her second year.
"They're so much more of a peer. They don't talk down to you. They treat you as someone who can make valuable contributions. Jon never talks down to us. He will make suggestions."
Tunnicliffe, who has been part of Shakespeare and Company's summer program, hopes to become an intern there. And, she said, Shakespeare and Company will help high school students find a college with a good theater program, and find a job in theater, something she hopes to do.
Another student said festival weekend lets students meet others from all over Berkshire County.
"It brings you together, and next year when you come to the festival, you know them."
Added another, "It's the best audience you'll ever find. They get all the lines, all the allusions. It's like a rock concert."
"The Wizard Of Oz" continues at Drury High School tonight and Saturday night at 7 p.m. |
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