By Taylor Tryon, Tumwater High School Intern to ThurstonTalk
Fall of 2013 saw a new era for Tumwater High School’s theatre company. Starting fresh with a new drama teacher and production director, Heidi Fredericks, well known in the Olympia theatre community, brought fresh ideas, energy, and life into the department.
Now settled, the new and improved Tumwater Theatre Company is embarking on its second winter musical production. The 2014 production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying was a large scale show. However, this winter’s production will contrast in many ways with its smaller cast size, quirky plot line, and uncommon attributes.
2015’s winter show, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, is an upbeat, comedic musical with an unexpected twist. Aspects of improvisational comedy and audience participation add intrigue to the show. Throughout the play audience members are called up and asked to compete in the bee. The success of this lands on the improv actors and their skills and familiarity with the form, making it a worthy challenge for these high school students. “It’s a really difficult thing to do, especially with high schoolers,” said Fredericks. But she has faith that the actors she has cast will handle it well.
Rehearsals are under way as the students prepare for the February 19 opening date. The main cast spends the first portion of rehearsals in the choir room with Rachel Landowski, the THS Choir teacher, rehearsing their songs and doing vocal exercises before returning to the stage to run lines and blocking under the direction of Fredericks. Simultaneously, back in the Performing Arts Center (PAC) the improv actors, led by Tumwater senior Myles Kautsky, run exercises and games to hone their skills and run their few planned lines.
The tech crew work around the actors, crafting plans for the set. Sean Gassin, the head high school technician is at work designing the set for the musical, reusing recycled set pieces from previous productions in order to keep within the limited budget for the department. Up above, overlooking the organized chaos is the office where stage manager, Kaylee Paulsen, along with a team of well-equipped teens are piecing together the program, making advertising calls, and designing shirts and posters for promotion.
All students have a very hands-on experience in the theatre department and are given a multitude of avenues to be involved in drama without ever stepping foot on stage. Over the past year they have become a well-oiled machine allowing Fredericks to step back and allow students to take on leadership positions that teach real-life theatre skills.
This is something actively taught in the drama class at THS. By having the skills to fill many rolls, not just to act, a well-rounded actor can fill any part in a theater from sound and lights to costuming to set design and stage management. These teens are helping to facilitate and run full productions, giving up their own time to chip in to help build the drama department at Tumwater.
Whether it be running an open improv class every Friday after school or just showing up to be helpful wherever they can, students enjoy the welcoming environment and are willing to pitch in as needed. The drama community is gaining strength every day at Tumwater High School, growing the theatre family and teaching life-long values to these students.
The Tumwater Theatre Company will be performing The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee Thursday through Saturday nights, February 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, and 28 at 7:00 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center at Tumwater High School. Tickets can be purchased at the door and donations to the growing program are always welcome.
