NPHS Theatre and Thespians is off to an exciting spring after an eventful fall.
In October, NPHS Thespian Troupe 5464 collected non-perishable food from the high school community for the annual Trick or Treat So Tots Can Eat campaign sponsored by the International Thespian Society. In time for Thanksgiving, the Thespians delivered 1,634,652.5 pounds of food to Manna on Main Street.
In November, the fall production of Shakespeare' s A Midsummer Night' s Dream, with a spunky steam punk theme and enchanting glowing trees, played to over 1,300 patrons and hosted the first Gold Card Matinee for a fall production.
In December, NPHS Theatre and Thespians hosted over 1,000 students, chaperones, professional teaching artists and college recruiters to the 2018 Pennsylvania State Thespian Festival. For three days, theatre education was highlighted in 10 one-act and six main stage performances presented by high schools from across the state; 40 professionally taught workshops covering all aspects of acting, musical and technical theatre; more than 300 auditions in acting, musical and technical theatre for colleges/universities, senior scholarships and a chance to compete at the International Thespian Festival National Individual Events in June 2019; and showcases of school theatre programs in other performances and videos of their programs in action. The conference was an overwhelming success with incredible support from the district and high school custodial, security, technical and cafeteria staffs, as well as North Penn Television and the communication technical staff.
One of the highlights of the Conference was a Q&A with retired legendary Harry S. Truman teacher, Lou Volpe. Drama High, a book written by one of Mr. Volpe' s former students, became a best seller and then the limited series Rise! shown on NBC last spring. Mr. Volpe was honored for his work by former US President Obama and received the Educational Theatre Association's Hall of Fame Award in 2018, among other accolades across educational and professional theatre. He entertained all with is wit, compassion, and passion for theatre education and students.
North Penn presented A Midsummer Night' s Dream as the conference' s closing show, Mr. Volpe and two other theatre directors responded to the show. Comments included: "simply beautiful," "a creation... of a magical dream space where all things are possible." And from Mr. Volpe: "visually jaw dropping… elegant… mastery of the poetic language… this is a troupe of actors, directors, and technicians at the top of their game... we were transplanted to the deepest parts of our imaginations."
On January 5, the Company of Midsummer received notification that the production was selected to be presented at the International Thespian Festival in June at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. So it' s "Nebraska or Bust" as 44 staff and students will be heading west on June 22- 30. Twenty-nine other schools were adjudicated in the fall with 11 being chosen to present at the largest educational theatre festival in the nation sponsored by the Educational Theatre Association. And three NP seniors, Molly Hostaedter and Sammi Stec in the Solo Music category, and Katie Krise in the Costume Construction category received superior ratings at the state conference and invitations to compete at Internationals.
Continuing in January 17, more than 80 NPSD middle school students joined 35 high school students for the annual Middle School Thespian Workshops organized and presented by the NPHS Thespian Troupe. The middle schoolers toured the high school, attended three of seven workshops of their choice, ate pizza and cake, shared their workshop performances and dances, and were joined by their parents/guardians at the end of the night to learn about navigating the high school and the theatre arts curricular and activity programs. The evening was a registered Theatre in Our Schools event with Educational Theatre Association celebrating theatre arts education.
And mark your calendars now for two great events coming soon to the NPHS auditorium!
February 22 at 7:00 pm is the 20th Anniversary of the Knight of the Arts, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BC/EFA) Gala and Fundraiser. Begun as a graduation project in 1999, this joyful variety show not only showcases the talents of NPHS, the three middle schools will also be previewing their upcoming musicals as well. A special surprise tribute will be coming from the New York area presented by BC/EFA with rumors of a Broadway connection! Since the beginning in the NPHS Auditorium of high school fundraising for BC/EFA, thespian troupes across the nation have jumped at the chance to help and are closing in on raising nearly $2 million dollars. The NPHS Thespian Troupe is hoping to reach a goal of $85,000 this year. THERE ARE NO TICKETS NEEDED, only a $5 suggested donation to BC/EFA. But there will be exciting performances, art demonstrations, and great Broadway souvenirs (many signed) to purchase!
AND yes, it' s coming... Mamma Mia! with all the great ABBA songs! Mamma Mia! opens May 1 with the Gold Card Matinee show. Public performances are May 2, 3 and 4 at 7:30 pm and May 5 at 2:00 pm in the NPHS Auditorium. Tickets will be on sale soon! Watch the NPSD website for links or go to www.npenn.org /theatre after February 15 for more information about ordering online or mailing in ticket order forms. People are already calling! Don' t wait to purchase your tickets at the door - there may not be any!
The theatre arts are alive and well at NPHS! Come celebrate the joy of creation with our many student artists!