Writer: Carolina

Editor: Erich

The HS Play is one of the pinnacles of high school life here at ISM. Known for its fabulous sets, cast and productions, ISM dazzles us all on opening night when the curtain lifts and the magic begins.

Of course, the production wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible people backstage creating the magic that we all bear witness to, including band director Tom Nazareno, choreographer director Yek Barlongay, vocal directors Anne Provencher and Carrie Grev, assistant director Catherine Rankin, as well as the student-led crew, but most importantly, we can’t forget to acknowledge the person behind it all: Marsha Hillman, ISM’s Fine Arts director. 

In an interview with her, she talks about this year’s HS Play, the most awaited production that was open for viewing on October 19, 20 and 21: The Addams Family.

Since the cast this year is decidedly smaller than that of High School Musical in SY 2022-2023, what are your thoughts and feelings on how a smaller cast will impact the cast/crew and the audience?

The Addams Family actually has a bigger cast than last year, not smaller: there were 45 actors in HSM and there are 51 in The Addams Family. We have also recruited another 8 of our brave crew to join us for a dance number so we actually have even more people on stage now! Overall, the total participation across band, cast and crew is also higher with 141 students involved last year versus 153 involved this year. Basically, we love having these big musicals at ISM because it means even more people from across all grades get to meet each other and become friends.

The theme of the Addams Family is very morbid and dark, so how do you find that a darker theme will suit young audiences?

For those who don’t know much about The Addams Family, the concept may at first seem dark and morbid. After all, the musical starts with a bunch of Addams family relatives rising from their graves! But remember, those ancestors return for the sole purpose of a party, so I think audiences will quickly realize that behind the dark aesthetic are themes and an overall message that are actually really positive and empowering. The musical celebrates people being who they truly are, no matter how quirky or kooky that may be! It also explores the importance of allowing each other room for personal growth and ultimately shows that acceptance is one of the most vital forms of support we can offer each other.  

In general, I don’t think younger audiences will find the themes too challenging because behind all the crazy characters, the plot is actually pretty realistic and relevant to teens.  For example, Wednesday is too scared to introduce her fiance’s family to hers because she knows the families are very different from each other, and she is right, the situation is complex and won’t resolve itself quickly.  However, once she does decide to own her truth, her whole family benefits from her honesty because it brings other truths to the surface. 

The play ends with the song “Move Towards the Darkness”, which again seems rather bleak until you realize the darkness is simply the unknown and the song is really saying “Don’t back away from the hard stuff or the unknown, move towards it, deal with it, and GROW.”  The musical is billed as a comedy and is actually pretty light compared to several previous plays at ISM. For example, Romeo and Juliet, The Book Thief, Blood Brothers and The Crucible were all much more serious plays, but they were also provocative stories where teens shaped their communities in really profound and unexpected ways and that definitely made them suitable for younger audiences. 

ISM has a very good reputation for theater and performance; this is because we challenge students to try different types of shows rather than simply do the same thing over and over again. Like the final song suggests, growth doesn’t happen if we always play it safe!

What are your overall thoughts on the cast and crew who have worked on this year’s production? How is the “backstage vibe”?

Overall, the level of professionalism across the whole cast is really high. People who are in this show love performing and exploring different aspects of performance.The Addams Family challenges the cast with different styles of dance: they shift from 1920’s jazz to 1950’s Broadway and end with a very spicy tango. For this reason, the music is also really challenging and the band is doing an amazing job of learning all of these really different styles. 

Personally, one of my biggest joys this year has been seeing how the underclassmen in the ensemble are hands-down the strongest group of younger performers I have worked with. They know their own passions and are willing to follow them more readily than in the past. They definitely value the amazingly skilled Seniors taking on the lead roles and take every opportunity to learn from them, but they also have a lot of their own great ideas to contribute to the creative process, which is really exciting from a directing perspective. For this reason, I even added in two underclassman understudies this year and will have them perform in the Saturday matinee show so you can see the same show twice, but done in slightly different ways. 

Overall, The Addams Family demands that performers are able to step outside of themselves and act with a much more heightened sense of the audience, which this cast is doing in style! 

In terms of the crew, this play also has really high technical demands so there is a lot of learning going on. All actors need specific costumes and full make up, the set has a lot of tricky details, and the tech can be really challenging at times. Again, I have been amazed at how people are stepping up: for example, it is perhaps the first time I have had a costume crew who is doing all the sewing for costumes that need alterations or mending, which is amazing. Meanwhile, Make-up and Hair is having to learn how to use a variety of techniques because the makeup required is a lot more challenging than realistic shows. 

One thing that I think sums up the backstage vibe is the fact that several of our crew have stepped up and joined one of the big dance numbers to make it even more fantastic. They took on the challenge even though it wasn’t something they signed up for, which shows the really supportive vibe materializing as we get closer to opening night. 

With that, next year’s HS Play is set to be directed by Solita Monsod, who has yet to release the mysterious details about what awaits us after the summer vacation, but there’s no doubt that it’s bound to be just as good!