In the past few months, Chatham County high schools’ arts programs have been setting the stage for their respective spring musicals, and have just recently concluded performances for their communities. Northwood, Seaforth and Jordan Matthews all put on their shows in the span of about three weeks, one after another. We interviewed the directors and producers of each show in order to take a brief look at each musical’s production process.
The first show performed was Jordan Matthews’ Oklahoma! March 25-27, directed by Sawyer Shafer and produced by Rose Pate. JM’s musicals are unique because the school does not have a theatre teacher, and instead hires a director from outside the school to run their shows. The theatre program at the school is entirely extracurricular, since there are no dedicated theatre arts courses. This means that many different types of students must work together to deliver a satisfying end product.
“We depend on our chorus, carpentry and art students in putting together our production,” Pate said. “That means that our shows are a true team effort from the whole school, and that’s a great experience.”
The commitment of the Oklahoma! cast and crew enabled them to overcome conflicts in scheduling, such as sports and jobs. Students were flexible with their time management, which resulted in efficient schedules that better allowed those involved to work on the show.
Just a week later, March 31-April 3, new Chatham County highschool, Seaforth, performed their first-ever musical—and production in general: You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. The show involved only freshmen and sophomores, since the students enrolled in Seaforth this school year were limited to those grades. Director Abby Sabiston is proud of her cast and crew for their dedication to the production.
“This is a smaller show, which means the majority of the cast are on stage a lot of the time,” Sabiston said. “They have had to work together to tell this story, and it wouldn’t have happened without working as a team. The crew has been amazing to step right in and help bring our show to life technically.”
Sabiston is relieved that despite COVID conditions, the cast and crew of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown were diligent about keeping their environment safe and healthy to prevent sickness. According to Sabiston, some members of the cast were a part of Annie Jr. at Margaret B. Pollard Middle School before the pandemic hit, but were unable to perform, so she is glad they were able to perform now at Seaforth.
Lastly, April 7-9, the Northwood High School arts programs collaborated to present Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka. The musical was directed by Northwood theatre teacher Kayla Sharp. It was Sharp’s first time working as both acting and technical director; Northwood’s other theatre teacher, Abby Sabiston, departed the school at the end of last year to work at Seaforth. Sharp is grateful to the creative student designers and innovative actors who brought their best to the production.
“I love working with students who take a lot of leadership and ownership over their work,” Sharp said. “The student designers came up with their concepts and shared them with Mrs. [Leslie] Burwell, [visual arts teacher] and they are complete owners of their work. This is true also with tech… The actors have the opportunity to bring a great deal to how they play these recognizable characters and that is where I have a lot of fun.”
Sharp was excited to have a live audience for the show; she believes that theatre is a group experience. She elaborates that the feeling of a streamed performance cannot compare to having a community to perform for in real time. In the digital program, Sharp has written a director’s note from her to her cast, crew, and audience.
“Willy Wonka… has always been a classic and I hope that anyone who holds the original movie in high regard, will appreciate all the classic moments and experience new moments that this musical brings to this story, ” Sharp wrote.
