NOTES FROM THE DIRECTOR
Wow! Where do I begin? Just when I think I could never love a cast more, this crew comes along (TWICE). There is something very special about this particular cast and crew. They challenged me daily. They made me laugh - A LOT. They brought me to tears with their heartfelt performances earlier in the rehearsal process than I have ever experienced and with their humor. I have said for years that Elizabethtown Independent Schools has more talent than any one district could hope for, and the proof is right in front of you.
Surprisingly, for many onstage, this is their first show. They have all jumped in and put their hearts and souls into this production. This show demands no less. Bringing a classic like George Orwell's 1984 to the stage is a challenge. I was lucky enough in middle school to be assigned 1984 as a reading/discussion/debate assignment. I fell in love with the book and even then, in the year 1984, I saw so many correlations between the book and then present day. This book stuck with me like no other. So, when the Theatre Guild students voted to do it as our play in 2019/20, I was thrilled. The cast and crew's first assignment was to read the book, if they hadn't already. Carl Stoltzfus, an amazing educator and the same teacher that got me hooked on Orwell, graciously gave up a Saturday morning to talk about the history that inspired the novel, George Orwell's other works, the characters, themes, and so much more that inspired this script. I have no doubt that discussion contributed greatly to the growth I saw in rehearsals from then on. History matters. Where we came from and how we got here matters. We thank him for agreeing to do it again for our 2022 cast.
There is so much I want to tell you about this cast and so much I want to say to them. More than I could fit on this page or several pages. They amaze me. They challenged me. They created memories that I will cherish forever. Even after the longest, hardest, most frustrating rehearsals - I missed them. Then on that fateful day in March 2020 when the world shut down, one day before tech week and one week before this show was to open, we promised each other that this show WOULD happen. Someday. None of us knew it would take two years for that "someday" to come or that half of our cast and crew would be graduates by the time it did. But here we are. Finally. The resilience and determination of this cast is like nothing I have ever experienced. I hope I have the chance to work with each of them again one day.
Thank you to the families of the cast and crew for all you do to support them that we don't see. Thank you for supporting their talent and their passion. They will always remember that - I promise. Most of all, thank you for sharing them with me. It has truly been a blessing and an honor I will cherish always.
To my cast and my crew: There are no words to tell you how incredibly proud I am of each and every one of you. I love you like my own, because you are. You are my "theatre kids" and you always will be. You have given me the most precious gift with your time, talents, laughs, jokes, dedication, fearlessness, and commitment. If you ever need anything, I'm always here for you. You're the best! I'll miss you more than you know, So...come back soon! - Carmen Caldera-Brzoska/Ms. C
"I do not believe that the kind of society I describe necessarily will arrive, but I believe that something resembling it could arrive. The moral to be drawn from the dangerous nightmare situation is a simple one: Don't let it happen. It depends on you."-George Orwell
