A Note From the Director…
This has been such a busy year for the Phils! In June we took our first trip together to New York and attended Broadway shows and workshops. We also performed at the National Federation of High School Sports Associations convention. We’ve had workshops with guest artists, started a tap/swing dance class, and have been rehearsing two shows; this production of The Three Musketeers and the mini-musical Cinderella Battistella with our underclassmen for performances in January.
I was looking for shows that would be fun and exciting to produce with our current Phils and I couldn’t have found a better match than this Ken Ludwig adaptation of The Three Musketeers. I read the script, then passed it on to my creative team, and a few of our student officers. We couldn't wait to get our license approved and produce it during this season in which we prepare to celebrate the 100th anniversary of our name, The Jesuit Philelectic Society (1916), and the 50th anniversary of females being allowed on our stage (1966). The show has great humor, fantastic fight scenes our stage combat choreographer, Mr. Alex M. Wallace, created with our students, and the addition of an empowering female message, all while sticking to the spirit and adventure of the original classic story by Dumas.
We’ve used a lot of 21st Century technology to bring this 17th Century story to life. We did research online for our props and weaponry and our Tech Director, Mr. Ron Goldberg, designed and printed our muskets on his 3-D printer. We referred to paintings and drawings of historical figures in the play to influence our costuming and hair, and found paintings and art work of the period to use as the beautiful images you’ll see rear projected as our backdrops. A lot of us have been walking around with e-readers reading translations of the original historical novel Les Trois Mousquetaires.
I feel this show has the rollicking spirit and high energy of all the great movie adaptations, too. In our research, our readings of the serial novel helped us explore the characters in full. Many of us watched as many film versions as we could find on Netflix or Amazon, including Walt Disney’s with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy; the 1974 version with Charlton Heston as Richelieu; the recent BBC series; and the fantastic silent film version with Douglas Fairbanks as D’artagnan. Mr. Fairbanks was quite the athlete and did his own stunts, including a brilliantly executed one-armed handstand as his character stabs someone in a fight scene. (Hint: Watch it with your television muted as the sound track added is really distracting.)
We reached out to the Jesuit Fencing Club and some of the Phils have now joined that club, too. Current student artist Adrian Prudhomme, ‘17, created original artwork for our posters and program. Mr. Minsal-Ruiz, SJ, shares the stage with us, gifting our students with the lessons lived by stepping outside of his own comfort zone and into theirs. As his character says in the play, “It takes courage to be yourself, so do it. Above all things, live a life of honor.” It is a goal for which we strive every day as the Phils. We want to be a welcoming, tolerant, and diverse presence on our campus and in our community, while respecting our talents, our aspirations, and our responsibility to our audiences and to ourselves as artists.
Come back and join us for our Senior-directed One Act Play & Improv Comedy Festival with performances January 21-23, 29 & 30. It will feature eight student directed one acts, the J-Troupe, and the original New Orleans mini-musical Cinderella Battistella.
Thank you for supporting the arts at Jesuit. Enjoy the show!
Kate Arthurs-Goldberg, M.A.
