“Last curtain call,” says a voice from backstage. Actors wait onstage for the curtains to swing open. The colored lights above glisten over colorful costumes, and nervous heart race. Student actors have spent weeks anxiously preparing for auditions, remembering cues, attending Saturday play practices, putting together wacky outfits, cheering friends who had been casted, and singing their hearts out. Bright lights beam down as the curtains open up, and acto­rs of all levels prepare for the dramatic moment for which they have waited so long. For many students at Pennbrook middle school, involvement in theater becomes a pivotal decision in their middle school beginnings, inspiring personal growth and memories to last a lifetime.
Pennbrook theater is popularly known within the Montgomery area for their original musicals. Previous shows such as “Jamie’s Will,” “Status Update,” “If the Slipper Fits,” and “Lost and Found” have all been produced with the marvelous craftsmanship of theater director Joseph O’ Brien, assistant director Bobbie Renzi, and the rest of the theater family. With years of experience and their collaborative efforts, the directors and Pennbrook’s music department make quite the team.
This month, Pennbrook theater is doing a reprise of their original musical, “Dakota.” Show dates range from March 12th through 14th. Like all of their shows, this one has a special moral, too.
We’ve all heard of the saying, “Appreciate what you have, because you never know when it will be gone.” Similarly, the moral of “Dakota” is to appreciate what you have, as well as where you live. Young people often dream of living a better life somewhere other than the place they call home. This especially applies to the main character, Cabrey Newheart. While being a high school senior and the daughter of the mayor, she longs to live her life outside her small town.
Theater director Joseph O’Brien has been directing original productions at Pennbrook for 18 years now.
“Usually I start on the story over the summer and get it to a certain point. Then I bring it to the songwriters, who could be Micky, Mrs. Campbell, or Mr. Neu. And then they get started on music. I’m usually still writing in the fall. Then by the time it’s about auditions, which is mid-November, it’s pretty much finished. Then we go from there. Mrs. Renzi gets involved with it. She helps a lot with the creation of the story.”
Speaking from an actor’s perspective, it’s performing in an original musical is a completely unique experience. Unlike popular Broadway shows such as “Wicked” or “Hairspray” that have to follow a script, Pennbrook theater can always edit their own. Throwing in a few puns here and there, maybe a few unexpected characters, and a bit of exaggeration at times, Pennbrook productions become one of a kind hits. Oftentimes, those little changes made to the show can trigger quite a huge roar of laughter in the auditorium.
“We have clowns all over the place!” said O’Brien. “Do you want to know why we have clowns all over the place? That’s another reason why you’ll have to come see the play!”
Jessica Schwartz, a Pennbrook student and troupe member, is a clown in the show. She has been in Pennbrook productions for the past two years. Along with her peers, she roams the stage, pantomiming in different scenes.
“I kind of like using the props for the clown. We can develop our characters more; we can make it our own,” said Schwartz. “I always enjoyed theater. I wanted to continue it and do it here. I wanted to be in a school I can be more involved in.”
The key to Pennbrook’s shows, as Schwartz described, is character development. The original productions give students the flexibility to truly make their characters their own. As scenes change during a show, an actor might switch from playing the part of an alien-teenager to a funeral attendant and from a ballroom dancer to a riled up protestor. Transitioning between characters of dramatically contrasting personalities, however, is just another skill for actors to develop.
Aside from all the excitement of a varied cast of characters, the theater family has been committed to giving their students the most memorable experience possible. No matter how hectic the schedule becomes within the weeks of preparation, the students’ takeaway is one of their top priorities. O’Brien explained that the suggestions of students are always taken under consideration.
“Sometimes our shows are a little more serious, but this one’s a lighthearted comedy. I think more about what our student’s take away. When I’m writing, that’s a little more of what I think about, [because] I think if our students get it, our audience will get it, too,” said O’Brien. “It’s fun because it’s very collaborative. When kids come up with ideas, we can use them. When we change our minds, we can use it. We can change characters. We can make a male character a female character. I think it gives people a lot of investment in [the play] and a lot of leadership.”
On the musical end, Katie Campbell, Pennbrook’s chorus teacher and vocal director, has been contributing to her school’s original shows for more than a decade. She explained that although planning for an original production can be tedious, the reprises of those shows are much easier to do.
Campbell explained the challenge of producing an original show: “It’s free and more difficult. There is no prior way to have done it. It’s like creating a recipe from scratch. Sometimes you realize, ‘Oh, I do need to put more salt in,’ or whatever. But usually the second time [it’s easier] – that’s why it’s so much fun to do these ‘rebounds’ when we have already done them once: they have already been tested.”
Campbell described the uniqueness of Pennbrook theater’s responsibilities, comparing them to those of other productions.
“Whenever you put on a world premiere it’s a lot of work, because you have to develop the characters, and you have to develop how things are going to run together. There’s a lot of cutting and pasting. It’s kind of like a first draft of a research paper, and if you went back and did it again, it would probably be better, because you can get rid of stuff. So a lot of the other middle schools, they already have that research paper. They are already done. They are just retyping it word for word – which is difficult in its own way. But what we have to do is develop the whole paper from a research standpoint. Nobody knows what the props will look like. Nobody knows who the characters will be. Nobody knows what the set design will look like. There are no preconceived notions.”
Despite the unique challenges and weighty responsibilities involved, Pennbrook middle school’s original productions cause it to stand out as one of a kind. Having recently attended Pennbrook myself and observed segments of this year’s rehearsals, I am certain that the theater program’s history of talented students and crowd-pleasing productions will be continued in this year’s production and many to come. The upcoming seventh graders are sure to learn what theater veterans know for a fact: with its one of a kind shows and priceless memories, you won’t regret your decision to join Pennbrook theater. I know I surely won’t.