Greetings!
It has been a pleasure to work with the fall drama students this year, for both the fall play, Much Ado High School, and the Chicago Shakespeare Slam team. I don't think we had one night of practice that I didn't laugh with them, and I'm hoping that the students had as much fun as I did!
Like any show, this one could not have gone on unless everyone pitched in to contribute. This group worked great together from the start, and the actors helped navigate through some rough waters, pulling it together even when we had a couple of major setbacks very late in our schedule. Most learned a great deal about what teamwork means, including perseverance, responsibility, and most of all, fun!
Many thanks to Lucas Pellett, our Stage Manager this year. He was the person who advocated to have the play, recruited students to tryout, helped write, edit, and cut scenes, and did a great deal of running around for the show (I can't tell you how many times he copied scripts!). He is organized, meticulous, and efficient, and he sometimes found himself pulled in many directions at once. Lucas, you are going to be a great entrepreneur someday!
Haley Hastings, you stepped up and did whatever I asked for this play, even though you were unable to act in it. You were a major force in the background, helping with our music, our practices as an assistant stage manager occasionally, and most of all, as a good listener when I needed to talk through some of our challenges. We are going to miss you immensely next year!
Our actors in Much Ado High School and Chicago Shakespeare Slam, you, the dedicated students who attended most practices, brought your best selves to practice even if you were having a bad day (and we all have those!), thank you for all your hard work in seeing this show to production. You were here many nights and even some weekends to help make this happen (Slammers--I was so proud of you in Chicago!). We had some laughs, danced, sang, and even spoke our lines in cowboy--and I hope you have created memories that you'll never forget. You have been such a fun group!
To my stage crew, thank you for jumping in to help us light our stage, move and create things! James, thank you for taking off work to help us! Cali, Addy, and Cole...thanks for cramming yourselves in the little room for a while, and especially with your willingness to take on this extra task despite having many of your own.
Special thanks to Mr. Kelly and Sandy for helping us clear the stage. Thank you to Mrs. Hill for supporting our group and encouraging us to move forward despite some major obstacles. You are a true patron of the arts! Thank you to the teachers and coaches for their flexibility in dealing with our schedules, our music, and our hamming it up occasionally. Thank you to Steve, our bus driver, for being so patient with us!
Thank you to Jake for helping us with all our technical aspects, especially for hanging up our microphones and double checking with us that things are working. Thank you for your patience in our late nights, too.
Thank you again for putting on a fun show! Can't wait to see what fun we'll have at our cast party! Break a leg!
Your Director,
Dr. Novy
