Posted January 29, 2024 in Articles
Author: Patty Sternad, Upper School Faculty
At Lawrence School, students have the opportunity to explore their passions and make lifelong memories through sports, clubs, and other extracurricular activities. Theater is no exception. Each year, Lawrence Upper School puts on two theatrical performances—a winter play and a spring musical—with rehearsals and learning materials specially designed to meet the needs of our performers. With auditions for the upcoming spring musical taking place this week, faculty member Patty Sternad reflects on her theatrical experiences and encourages students who have a flair for the dramatics to share their talents onstage or backstage through lighting, sound, set design, and more.
I began working with the spring musical productions when my daughter Karen ’16 auditioned for her first musical, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. It was 2012, and the script was long. It featured big musical numbers, and I was a rookie.
Thank goodness for Greg Donnellan, who was the theater director at the time. His experience and guidance in directing, sound, lighting, and set design prepared me for the day he would step away from our theater productions. The fact is, you never truly leave the theater. Greg has been a dear friend and has helped out when I have questions, need advice, or need someone to climb the scaffolding to adjust the stage lights. Last school year, I directed/produced my 10th musical, The Addams Family, and I am so proud of each and every student who was involved in the show.
I began my love of theater and, in particular, musical theater when I was about six years old. My dad was performing in Hello Dolly and was practicing his music and the couple of lines he had. By the time my father performed, my sister and I had memorized the entire show. Throughout my childhood, I would help my dad master his lines by practicing with him, and then my sister and I would rehearse lines together as often as possible.
Aside from a few school performances, I’ve never performed in front of the curtain. I’ve always preferred working behind the scenes. When I was in middle school, I began working on props and assisting with the building and painting of sets.
It wasn’t until I started teaching in the middle school at Lawrence that I truly became immersed in every area of musical production. I must admit that my favorite time of the school year is from February to April! Why? Because that’s musical time, and the time of year when I get to work with our students outside the classroom. Yes, it’s a lot of work, but it’s also some of the most rewarding times of my life. I get the opportunity to help students learn lines and design costumes that fit their character and personality, as well as teach them how to become their character on stage.
Parents often ask Stafford Merk and I how we get students to learn music, lines, blocking, and dancing for a two-act musical that lasts almost two hours. I can assure you that technology has helped tremendously with these tasks. The music is on tracks we purchase from the theater production companies we work with. Stafford, who is our musical director, changes the key, arrangements and can even adjust the tempo to help students learn their parts to every song. Dance rehearsals are recorded, scripts are scanned or hand typed, and materials are uploaded to Google Classroom so that the entire cast, crew, and directors can access everything they need to perform the musical. I started scanning/typing scripts about eight years ago so students could use Read&Write Gold to Listen to their lines to memorize them.
Repetition and memorization are essential aspects of a performers toolkit, and we have the cast work closely with each other to practice lines as much as possible during rehearsal downtime. Students with leads frequently gather on their own time to assist one another, and parents, of course, devote hours of their time to help. Speaking of Lawrence parents, I know I couldn’t accomplish what I do with directing and producing a musical without the tremendous support of our theater parents. We’re fortunate to have the school community and family of parents who donate their time so students have sets, props, costumes and everything else needed to perform in a musical production.
It’s always bittersweet when the curtain closes every April and the Garfield Theatre is once again returned to an empty stage and seats. But, once January rolls around, I find myself giddy with excitement.
This year’s spring musical is Mamma Mia! and auditions will be held after school Jan. 30-31. Students of all experience levels are invited! This is a wonderful opportunity to explore creativity, enhance self-expression, and develop advanced skills.
So until the curtain opens on Mamma Mia! April 18-21, I bid you adieu!
Mrs. Patty Sternad is currently in her 18th year of teaching at Lawrence School. Currently, she teaches U.S. History, Mythology, and Lawrence Repair and Maintenance courses. Mrs. Sternad spent nine years teaching middle school Ancient World History, has coached girls basketball, and is the current faculty advisor of the National Honors Society at Lawrence. Mrs. Sternad attended Baldwin Wallace College, where she earned her Master of Education in Mild/Moderate Special Needs and undergrad in education and history.