Fall Theatre brings 'Expectations' to life
Goldie Rapp
The Academy continued its tradition of Fall Theatre with three 10-minute plays presented Nov. 17 and 18 in the Little Theatre. The evening began with Last Minute Adjustments, a play about a baby about to be born who is reluctant to leave the womb and enter a world of uncertainty. A dark comedy titled, From the Mouths of Babes followed, in which a trio of toddlers plan a violent end to their daycare teacher for withholding juice boxes. The third play was an original script, written by SBA students under the experienced guidance of Academy Drama Director Fr. Dominic. The theme of the show, Expectations, was suggested by senior Ella Englehaupt.
“Some Stage Rats and I were discussing the possibilities for Fall Theatre,” said Fr. Dominic, “and Ella suggested a play about how teenagers often feel the weight of other peoples’ expectations: parents, teachers, friends, society, etc. We had a group of about a dozen writers.”
That may seem like an unwieldy number of authors, but Fr. Dom has developed a method for collaborative script writing in which every person has an opportunity to contribute, without one or two people dominating the process. He has taught workshops on this method in a variety of venues, including schools, theatre festivals and educator conventions.
“Our group was made up primarily of freshmen and Chinese boarding students,” Fr. Dominic reported, “and after they got over some initial shyness, they really got excited over the project. Every single person on the writer’s team made at least one important contribution to the plot or the dialogue itself.”
The play depicts Mara, a high school senior, interacting with her parents, her friends and boyfriend, social media, and her boss, each of whom have different expectations for her. The weight of their opinions was symbolized by Mara putting on shirts with words like “popular” or “loyal” to represent their desires for her. Eventually she finds herself unable to move under the weight of these expectations.
Academy Social Worker Megan (Considine) Theisinger ’09 was impressed with the insightfulness of the script and the emotional power of the performance.
“I see students in my office every day who are feeling these same pressures,” she said. “Seeing them represented on stage was genuinely moving, and I love how the script portrayed Mara making the choice not to listen to every voice. I’m also happy to see how many freshmen and sophomores were involved in the project.”
Fr. Dom agrees. “With so much young talent both in the writing group and on the stage, we have a lot to look forward to in the coming years of Fall Theatre,” he said with a grin. “Our writing program is unique among local schools, and I’m happy to see it inspiring a new generation of theatre artists.”
