When the seniors of High Tech High School’s Drama Department went to see an original production at Rutgers University last May, it inspired them.
The students at the county-run public high school told their teacher, Deborah Arters, that instead of performing a classic, they wished to write their own theatre piece and find their own voice on the stage.
At Rutgers, sophomore drama majors for almost 10 years have spent an entire year in renowned acting Professor Kevin Kittle’s “Performance Ensemble,” completing original monologues and scenes that become a play.
“It’s very deep and gritty for our age and I think everyone should come see it.” – Stephanie Guzman
________
Garcia, along with Rutgers Alum Alex Fanele, Arters, and even Kittle himself, have taken student-written scenes and helped shape their performances, which range from serious to seriously funny.
They and the students came up with “Crash Course: Avoid All Road Signs,” which focuses on the lost signals of communication of their generation. The production will be performed this week.
Original scenes
Senior Alissa Sanzone, of Bayonne, drew her inspiration from a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. After seeing a gold statue there she dreamt up “Cupella,” a statue who is seen throughout the play coming to life and interacting with humans. At the end of the play her character finds love, but then comes to the realization that she is not human.
Senior Malcom McMichael of Jersey City drew on his personal experience of “coming out” as gay to his religious aunt.
In the scene, a teenager comes out to his aunt, and instead of “blowing up,” she is receptive.
“Well, the opposite happened to me,” said McMichael. “Everything that didn’t happen, I put in the scene.”
McMichael, like many of the other students, will not be performing his own piece, but is doing other student-written roles.
“I love original work for teenagers because it allows them to find their own voice,” said Arters, who said she believed everyone had done just that.
North Bergen residents Louis Altamirano, a senior, and Johnny Garcia, a sophomore, are proud of the production.
“It’s really different from a lot of shows,” said Johnny, who will play a 16-year-old who has his sights set on being famous.
Altamirano will don the roles of an aspiring janitor and a high school senior who “loses it all.”
“There is quite a range, [from a scene] about some fish hanging out in a bowl, to a son recounting abuse from a stepfather,” said Garcia. “What they have come up with are very big tops and are very relevant for their age.”
Curtain call
“It’s very deep and gritty for our age and I think everyone should come see it,” said senior Stephanie Guzman, a West New York resident.
Guzman was nervous about how their audience would receive their work, but was proud of what they were able to achieve.
“Crash Course” will be performed this week at the Jay Todd Black Box Theater, located at the North Hudson Center of the Hudson County Schools of Technology, on Thursday, April 29 at 1 p.m., Friday, April 30 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Saturday, May 1 at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Tickets are $7 for students and $10 for adults.
For more information, call (609) 662-6800 at ext. 8205.
Tricia Tirella may be reached at TriciaT@hudsonreporter.com.