Portledge in the Now.

The Portledge Theatre Program As Experienced by Students

by Ava F. '24 and Holly S. '24
Theatre is an integral part of an educational institution. Students at Portledge begin their journey in Drama classes in the Lower School, expanding their practice each year. In Middle and Upper School, there are theatre electives, plays, and musicals that are audition-based. Two Upper School students who have been very active in the theatre program at Portledge shared their thoughts in the blog post below.
Ava Faltischek '24
The Portledge Theatre Department has had one of, if not the biggest impacts on my life. During my first year at Portledge, I signed up to do stage crew for the middle school play on a whim. From there, I was scouted by Mr. Dula, and in 9th grade, he approached me with the offer to be the stage manager for the upper school musical. I said yes and that decision changed the course of my life.

The joy I found in theatre and stage management was greater than anything else I had ever experienced, and I would always be looking forward to rehearsals at the end of the day. But, it wasn’t just participating in the creation of theatre that made it so special, it was also being a part of that community.

The Portledge theatre community is one of the most close-knit groups of people on campus. We all encourage and support each other both in theatre and outside of it. We all love theatre itself, but getting to do it with the people we love makes it even more enjoyable and special to us. They have helped me get to the place I am now.

To say that theatre impacted my life would be an understatement. It completely changed my life. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life before Mr. Dula found me. He introduced me to theatre and gave me a purpose within the theatre department. However, I only viewed theatre as a hobby that I loved to do. I couldn’t fathom the possibility that it could be more than that. Dula pushed me and helped me realize that I could have a career in theatre. Now, I’m going to one of the top theatre schools in the country to study stage management, and I owe it to Dula and the theatre department at Portledge.

This year, I was elected as one of the presidents of the Drama Club. This was very important to me because I wanted to use my position to help other people find their place in theatre. Theatre changed my life and I hope that the Portledge Theatre Department will continue to help others after I graduate.

Holly S. '24
The Upper School theatre department has one performance space. It is a blackbox which seats ninety if you squeeze, often leaks, sometimes floods, and occasionally smells like the septic tank it’s built on top of. I have spent five to ten hours of nearly every week of high school rehearsing in this theatre. Every minute has been priceless.

My first year in Upper School theatre was the return to school (or a hybrid version thereof) after pandemic lockdown. At the end of my eighth-grade year, Broadway shut down, my community musical was postponed and then canceled entirely, and Pippin—the Upper School musical, which I had been waiting forever to be able to do—didn’t happen either. I feared I wouldn’t have the chance to do theatre again, one of my greatest passions, for an unbearably long time. The Upper School theatre department certainly was struggling when I started ninth grade. But it welcomed me in nonetheless, and I did have a freshman-year musical, which was nothing like I imagined it would be and everything I didn’t know I needed.

The now-legendary Outdoor Pippin, a staged reading mounted behind the Wellington Gym, was brought to life after six weeks of sunburnt faces, sheet music blowing into trees, and occasional rainstorms which drove us into the gym to sing through masks and standing six feet apart. The process of considerable adversity united us. We mounted a remarkable production out of sheer willpower and not a little spite, insisting to the world that we could and would still do theatre, no matter what.

After Outdoor Pippin, I threw myself entirely into the drama program, where I’ve been ever since, performing in every production it has mounted during my time there. Even my upcoming senior project—a reading of the play that our incredible director encouraged me to write, co-directed by myself and our brilliant stage manager, another senior, whom I know will excel as she pursues the job professionally—is based in the theatre department.

The drama program is the root of many of my greatest memories of high school and of my entire life. It gave me the confidence and skills in performance and life to continue pursuing theatre as I transition into college. My chosen school has many performance spaces, larger ones, ones that generally don’t flood or smell. But I know I’ll miss our blackbox, and the magic that happens there, more than I’ll ever be able to say.
Back

Latest news

List of 3 news stories.

Archive
    • Portledge school

      Footer bG

      FooterBg

Become an Integral Part of Our Community.

Get In Touch

Legal

*NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATORY POLICY AS TO STUDENTS
Portledge School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law. This policy applies to, but is not limited to, educational policies, admission, financial aid, hiring and employment practices, use of school facilities, athletics, and other school-administered programs.
Web design by Digital Silk