Taconic High School Stages 'Hadestown: Teen Edition'
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Junior Brendan Bayles, as Hades, dancing with senior Ryley Schwarz, who plays Persephone.
This Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., the students will be hitting the stage to perform the family-friendly adaptation of Anaïs Mitchell's Tony-winning Broadway musical "Hadestown." Tickets are $13 for adults and $8 for students.
The jazz-inflected folk opera follows Orpheus' mythical quest to overcome Hades and regain the love of his true love, Eurydice.
"'Hadestown' is the first show that we've done that has had a lot of character meat behind it, where we're really delving into the motivations and the story itself," said Caitlyn Martin, theater director.
Martin described how she observed the students engaging in debates with each other about the reasons behind certain events.
This experience has been truly impactful because it's not just about their performances on stage; they are also reflecting on these issues off stage, she said.
The students are exploring why people react the way they do and recognizing that emotions are more complex than anger, happiness, or sadness, prompting them to delve deeper into these feelings.
What makes Taconic High School's theater department unique is that, as a trade school, it allows for collaboration across various departments, said Brendan Bayles, a junior.
The carpentry class helped build the sets, the electrical shop helped manage the lighting, cosmetology helped with hair and make-up, and other departments contributed by creating props and costumes.
Many students noted that the experience was deeply meaningful and changed their perspective on theater, with some even discovering potential career paths through the production.
Bella Lahert, a sophomore, is part of the Taconic carpentry program that built the set for 'Hadestown.'
She emphasized that working with the theater department helped her realize that set design is what she wants to pursue in life, and participating in the production boosted her confidence.
"I do plan on going to Berklee College of Music, and theater is a very big part of that. And also what Bella said, I believe it really helped me with my confidence and finding my voice," said Romelo Holley, a freshman.
"So, I think theater really allowed me to come out of my shell and really show what I can create, and I'm really thankful for that."
"Opening night was a really fun experience for me, because my sophomore year I was backstage, and I wasn't really on stage as much, and then throughout my junior and my senior year, I got the confidence, went on stage, danced with everybody else, and it made me feel like very included," said Eva Matkovska, a senior.
"And that's the experience it was for me, and this opening night being my last opening night, I was really grateful for the experience."
Several students expressed that their participation in the theater department and the 'Hadestown: Teen Edition' production was a transformative experience that challenged and enlightened them.
Brooke Lemisha, a senior and the show's stage manager, initially had no interest in theater. However, after getting involved with the theater department and its community, she developed a passion for it and became an integral part of the department.
"I think this is my favorite show that I've done here because I'm more involved with this one than I was with the other ones," she said.
Lemisha worked on the musical for the full six months, while previously, she had only handled the technical portions, which lasted about a month.
"And it's really, really cool. It's sad to see it go, though, because I'm a senior so it's the end of the show for me," she said.
"But, it's really cool, like working on it for this long, and then, like seeing all the pieces be put together, it feels like magic."
Bayles, who portrayed Hades, expressed enjoyment in taking on a more serious and complex role in this production, as opposed to the lightheartedness of previous shows like "Mamma Mia" and "The Little Mermaid."
"I had never really played a serious role or a villain character, but going throughout it, it was really fun to challenge myself in portraying these certain emotions on stage that I haven't really done before. And it was not the easiest thing I've ever done in the world, but it was a whole lot of fun," he said.
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Romelo Holley, a freshman, playing
Hermes.
In preparation for the show, they spent a lot of time discussing the "beautifully tragic" story and its recurring theme of hope and the importance of maintaining it despite fear, Martin said.
The students highlighted the various themes that the play explores, such as capitalism and oppression, faith and hope, and love, which they brought to life through several techniques, including choreography, lighting, set design, and dialogue.
"I think our dance choreographer, Summer Lawton, did a really great job at showing the difference in the settings," Matkovska said.
Lawton is a college freshman at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, studying dance education.
"When we are dancing above ground and happy-go-lucky, we have a lot of flowy movements, and when we're below ground in Hadestown, there's a lot of sharp movements, and the dances are very different in that way. "Holley demonstrated the idea of faith by describing a pivotal moment in the story.
When Orpheus and Eurydice are leaving Hell, Orpheus walks in front, unable to turn around to check if Eurydice is following him. Holley said he interpreted this as Orpheus "walking in faith," trusting that she is behind him despite the instinct to look back.
"As Hermes, I'm the storyteller, and Hermes has told the story countless, countless times. So for me, I think my lesson is that no matter how much you tell something, you can always learn something new from it," Holley said.
"And he's always hopeful and optimistic about it. So even if you know how it ends, I think you should still always see a different light in it."
Tags: high school musical, Taconic High,
