playbill vip

A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR

It is with deep respect, adoration and pride that I present a piece of work that although some may find controversial, is also an important piece of theatre we have the privilege to tell.  First and foremost I want to thank the administration, staff and families of our students that have welcomed this material with open arms and have an understanding that our students are not only capable of handling this material, but mature enough to present it with a sense of great skill, knowledge and ability.   Written by Frank Wedekind in the late 1800's, and faced with much adversity for over a hundred years, it was finally turned into an award winning musical in 2008.  This show is about all of us.  Our youthful minds, our aging selves, our ancestors and the right and wrong choices we make along the way.  This show experience covers all the topics with the risks we take or have not taken.  The lighter sides and darker sides of our nature as leaders, teachers, parents and students of life.  What we say.  How we affect our fellow peers.  The ability to be thrown into a life situation and being forced to grow up.  

I ask that you watch this show with an open mind and heart.  I ask that you take a moment to see yourself as a child learning about life.  I ask that you suspend yourself in a dream as you reach us across the stage with your eyes and feel the earth beneath you with the pounding of your heart.  This year has been monumental for so many reasons.  We started the year with the loss of one of our own, continued with successes and personal gains, professional workshops, travel invitations, performances, added stresses of school business and curriculum, collaborative building, outside professional experiences and working with amazing people in the industry.  We end the year with the culmination of our blood, sweat, tears and work for you on this stage.  It was probably the toughest year emotionally for me.  Which so fittingly made this show, Spring Awakening, one of the most hard-working, internal and personal piece of work created here at HT Musical Theatre.  After 14 years and 32 shows, sometimes you wonder... what in the world are we going to do now?  I never enjoy repeating myself, so the challenge was to step out of the box.  Literally.

This is where this class makes the difference.  This show would never have been made if it wasn't for the help and dedication of this MTH Class of 2014.  I not only admire them for their diligence and respect for what we do, but for the ability to prove to themselves that they can set goals, achieve them and go beyond their wildest imaginations.  These are the dreamers.  These students are what have kept me sane because they have all managed to take leadership positions and follow through, making my work here easier and fun to do.  I have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for them and I thank them and their parents for making this all happen.

And then there are the seniors, but particularly the core seniors that have been so instrumental in making this year a great one.  I will miss you more than you will ever know.  Please savor every moment, every memory and take all the life skills you have learned with you to your new adventures.  Our door is always open.  You are at home here.  You always were, you always are.  Always in my heart.  Never let anyone tell you you can't dream.  Always dream.  Ask plenty of questions.  And Never stop questioning authority.  It's what helps make the world go 'round.

Mr. P