St. John's Theatre

The ITS is an offshoot of the Educational Theatre Association, a professional organization for teachers of theatre and theatre professionals at all levels. The International Thespian Society offers students exposure to the larger world of theatre. As members, they benefit from publications edited specifically for high school and middle school theatre enthusiasts; from participating in events like state conferences and the International Thespian Festival; from the recognition that comes from being a part of an honorary organization; and from the widened perspective that proves they share an interest with millions of peers. Thespian students also have an array of scholarship opportunities open to them at state and international thespian events. More importantly, it will give our students internationally recognized credit for their efforts on behalf of Theatre and St. John's.

Erin, what is love?
Maureen, why does Shakespeare use a frame format in A Midsummer Nights Dream?
Nathan, why is Bottom the central character in our production of Midsummer Nights?

Don't worry, guys, tonight, these are rhetorical questions.

I ask them here tonight to illustrate a point for our families. Much of what we do in rehearsals in preparation for a show is about asking questions. Hopefully, by asking the right questions, we come to a greater understanding of the play, the authors intent in writing the piece, or our own collective take on what our production should be about. I think you can ask similar questions about our presence here tonight.

What is the point to a theater arts program in a high school?
Is it necessary to produce plays in a Catholic school?
Why does St. John's Theatre exist at all?

The fact is, it is expensive for both the school and people involved. It is time consuming... on the staff, the students and on the parents. It is distributive to family life (yes, I am roughly aware of how many weekends the Boswells have missed at the beach). It requires the commitment of varsity football, the endurance of varsity basketball and the finesse of varsity soccer but you only get to play the game three times. Let's face it, is hard. Why bother doing Theatre at all? Right now, the seniors are thinking, "We've asked ourselves that question more than once this week."

These are questions worth asking.

Is there a point to a theater arts program in an academic setting. Sure. Of course. But maybe not for the reasons that are most obvious. Certainly there is a strong desire on the part of the staff of Theatre to teach you proper and responsible theatrical methodology. How to understand a play, to build a character, to run a light board or a rehearsal. But this learning is just the form we use for far greater education of the human condition. The human experience of the Holocaust can not be found in a history text book. But it can in a play like The Diary of Anne Frank or I Never Saw Another Butterfly. Redemption is nothing more than an entry on a religion course outline until you have figured out what Dickens truly meant in A Christmas Carol. The study of fantasy and reality in a classroom pales to what can be learned about them in the production of a play like Midsummer Nights.

There is also your realistic education. To encourage and develop in you the skills that will serve you well in college and the work force beyond: accepting responsibility for our own work, seeing a project to the end, being accountable for your commitments. And that is why we leave the auditorium better than we found it, why you plan your own senior trip to New York City, why you write essays when you are late for rehearsal and why you wash bathrooms before going to Armand son closing nights.

It is the fusion of all these types of learning that together are your Theatre education which you will in turn use long after you have stopped performing in the Auditorium.

Why do we take this particular philosophy at St. John’s Theatre? Most high school theater programs are about production and performance. But we are not most high school. We are not the local public school or another Catholic High School. We are St. John’s We are a LaSallian school and that is the point of a LaSallian education. To advance you to the next level. To give you the skills you will need to face the world that lies ahead of you. And, as Brother Hal said to me this summer: to build the kingdom of God here, on earth, at St. John’s, in our Auditorium.

I believe in the clown principle. That there is something is something noble, right, even Christ-like to take a room full of people, people who carry the woes of the world in with them - maybe they did not get the grade they expected in Brit Lit. Maybe it is a teacher who can not get the gradebook program to work or maybe it is a parent who had a difficult day at work. And for two hours, we bring them in and make them forget at all that. We relieve their sufferings and for those two hours we make the world a better, happier and more peaceful place. Isn’t that exactly what Christ asked to do?

So there it is. Our theme statement. Our purpose. Our answer to the most fundamental question.

The reason for theater both in and out of schools, the point to a Catholic school performing arts program, our reason for being here tonight and your charge as the charter membership of the St. John's chapter of the ITS: is to love another person so that we may see the face of God.

Very level two.

As your director, I leave you with yet another question and direction: Do you accept your charge? Do you? And if you do, shout it from the mountains for all to hear. Make it crystal clear so that everyone will understand your meaning and do it with the joy that is deserves. That’s right, do it with volume, diction and energy.

On behalf of Mr. Carr, Mr. Colvin, Dr. Nighan, Ms. Timberlake and Ms. Hernandez-Cata, it is an honor to work with the students in Theatre and tonight we are very proud of each and every one of you.

Congratulations.

1999 Membership Breakdown & Points

Aaron Benson
Godspell
Grease

Kathryn Bonistalli
Production Stage Manager
A Christmas Carol
Godspell
The Night of January 16th
Grease
The Wildwood Summer Theatre

Michael Bonistalli
Theatre Vice President -99/00
A Christmas Carol
Godspell
Grease

Catherine Boswell
Theatre Treasurer - 98/99
Theatre President -99/00
I Never Saw Another Butterfly
A Christmas Carol
Godspell
The Night of January 16th
Grease

Andre Brooks
A Christmas Carol
Grease

Nathan Claridad
Theatre President -98/99
I Never Saw Another Butterfly
Nunsense
A Christmas Carol
Godspell
The Night of January 16th

Kathleen Deegan
Theatre Secretary - 98/99
Nunsense
A Christmas Carol
Godspell
The Night of January 16th
Grease

Ryan Denchfield
The Night of January 16th
Grease

Maureen D'Antuono
Theatre Secretary - 99/00
Nunsense
A Christmas Carol
Godspell
The Night of January 16th
Grease

Erin Feliciano
Theatre Treasurer - 99/00
I Never Saw Another Butterfly
Nunsense
A Christmas Carol
Godspell
The Night of January 16th
Grease

Raymond Gomez
The Night of January 16th
Grease
Screenwriting

Jessica Marrero
The Night of January 16th
Grease

Lena Nune
A Christmas Carol
The Night of January 16th

Rani Nune
A Christmas Carol
The Night of January 16th

Nicole Richardson
Godspell
Grease

Jasson Soemo
The Night of January 16th
Grease

Jamie Weeks
The Night of January 16th
Grease
The Wildwood Summer Theatre

Updated 11/08/98 by Tim Emerson