BRINGING HISTORY ALIVE
When people think of middle school theater, they think of plays like Miss Nelson is Missing, The Ransom of Elverna Dower, Haphazardly Ever After, or other light comedies. Although these plays teach students performance skills, they do not allow students to experience all theater has to offer. I Never Saw Another Butterfly has provided this cast the opportunity to live a piece of history by using their talent to tell the story of the children who were held in the Terezin ghetto during World War II. During the rehearsal process, students saw footage of Terezin, heard the stories of the prisoners, and learned how the Nazis used Terezin for propaganda purposes. Students learned not to play a part, but to tell the story of real people who deserve to be heard. For these students, and hopefully for their audience, the Holocaust is no longer just a page in a history book.
--P. Matanic
VOICES
This season for MTC is entitled "Voices" because each show in our season speaks to a specific segment of the world population, and allow their stories to be told. With The Refugee Women, this is especially true. Throughout the process (which began in June), the company has learned much about refugee crises throughout history. We've made discoveries that dispel stereotypes, tackled dialects to challenge ourselves to be better communicators through language, and worked hard to simply tell the stories of the people whose futures are uncertain. We hope you enjoy the work that these fine Thespians have put in and will be showcasing on November 10 at Regionals!
--R. Palasz
EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
This year, the Technical Theatre class has taken on the real-world task of designing elements of both shows. For I Never Saw Another Butterfly, costumes, set, lights, sound, and the logo were all designed by students. For The Refugee Women, the set, costumes, and logo was inspired by student work. Additionally, the displays you see in the lobby are the dramaturgical work of those same students. In this way we show students what a career in the theatre entails, helping our students become college and career ready.
For more information about our theatre classes, contact Peggy Matanic at mjmatanic@munster.us.
