Director's Note
by Hayley Wood
Though I don't typically write a director's note at the end of my productions, this year I felt compelled to address how grateful I am to be working in the Dracut Public School District's theatre arts programs. As a graduate of the class of 2011, I spent my four years at Dracut High School sitting in the auditorium watching my peers on stage make nothing short of magic. It was there that my passion for theatre began. I knew coming back to that auditorium, although now the beautifully renovated performing arts center, to this time help create that magic would be a great experience. What I didn't anticipate, however, was just how supportive the school administration would be when it came to the performing and technical arts. I was lucky enough to take part in some fantastic conversations about how the theatre arts program at the high school can grow into something that cultivates the students' creativity and humanity while at the same time giving back to the community - creating worlds and telling stories that we can all come together and share.
I would also like to take the time to note that everything you see and hear on this stage has been either student created or student led - from the wood grain detail on the furniture, custom built props, handsewn costumes, beautiful soundscapes, and student stage management team. Though professionals may have been supervising the process, this world was entirely created by the students and that is not something readily found in many school theatre programs.
We hope you enjoy this reenvisioning of Arthur Miller's timeless classic of what happens when patience and empathy give way to fear and pride and look forward to you joining us in the spring for a refreshing take on the most seminal work in American musical theatre: Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!
"I think of the theatre as a poetic medium... there's something magical about it. It's not about being 'smart', it's about being alive."
Stephen Sondheim
