DIRECTOR'S NOTE: Will Morrison
When the Berklee Musical Theater Club decided to pick Next to Normal as their spring semester show, I was ecstatic. This show has been very influential to me and has become one of my favorite shows since I discovered it back in high school. The reason I was drawn to this show was, what are in my opinion, the two major themes: mental illness and love. Mental illness is something that affects most people in our society, but it is something that doesn’t get talked about or acknowledged the way that it should. I believe this show brings to light the effects of mental illness on the individual as well as those around them. The second theme I see in this show is love, the love between a husband and wife, a mother and child, or a boyfriend and girlfriend. These two themes bring together what I think is a beautiful piece of art and can be very reflective of what life is like for someone with bipolar disorder.
My hope is that when people watch our production, they leave with a better understanding of what it means to live with a mental illness and how difficult it is, not just for the individual, but also those who love and support them.
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The Berklee Musical Theater Club would like to encourage anyone who may have symptoms of bipolar disorder, depression, or anxiety to seek help. We have the number and email for the Berklee Counseling Center below.
Berklee's Counseling Center: 617-747-2310 counselingcenter@berklee.edu
Special thanks to: Kevin Fish, Laurel Dreher, our friends at the Student Activities Center, the YMCA Cambridge Theater Staff, Rene Pfister, Kate Elmendorf, Luke Sutherland, Jeff Mosser and all our supporters.
Berklee Musical Theater Club (BMTC) is a student-run club at Berklee College of Music, dedicated to bringing musical theatre to Berklee and its surrounding communities. With the help of Berklee's Student Activities Center, BMTC produces book musicals, revues, and concerts, hosts masterclasses and student presentations, and gives students the opportunity to work with peers in any capacity of musical theatre. If you were, are, or ever wanted to be an Actor, Dancer, Pit Musician, Director, Choreographer, Music Director/Conductor, Orchestrator, Arranger, Stage Manager, Lighting Designer, Sound Designer, Set Designer, Props Master, Costume Designer, Makeup Artist, Crew Member, or more, this is the club for you!
Berklee students can request to join BMTC by emailing musicaltheaterclub@berklee.edu.
Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/berkleemtc
Follow us on Twitter/Instagram: @berkleemtc
Thank you, and enjoy the show!
Christian James Potterton, President
Cierra Bartelt, Vice President
Will Morrison, Secretary
Shannon Jacob, Company Manager
Justin Gates, Public Relations Coordinator
Ian DePriest, Social Media Coordinator
Kate Elmendorf, Recruitment Coordinator
