~ Notes from the Director, Dr. Bagley ~
In the Director's Note from Disney's High School Musical in 2007, I mentioned 'a theatre program cannot attain a level of excellence without the help of many people; and certainly, I have seen a veritable parade of designers, choreographers, artisans, and workshop leaders who have, over the course of my two years at SEED, taught, enriched, and affected the lives of the students in The SEED Schools' Falcon Theatre program...' Now in my 9th year at SEED this statement still holds true, and I still marvel at the enthusiastic and continued support The Falcon Theatre has garnered over the years. Each individual has given humbly, yet his or her expertise has been hungrily devoured by the many students that have expanded The Falcon Theatre program. Notedly, the cumulative effect has been staggering and has enabled us to achieve a level of proficiency that many would deem impossible for our students. In fact, this cast participated, for the second time, in the 2014 Junior Theatre Festival, a 3 day musical theatre adjudication in Atlanta, with nearly 4,000 participants. After a first year experience that provided our students with many eye opening moments, the festival enabled them to recognize where they needed to grow, and they returned this year and took the festival by storm. Dallas Otigba, Destini Simms, and Delonta Cole were recognized for Outstanding Performances and invited to audition for the Broadway, Jr. DVD Collection; Larquette Brown and Tyrane Allsbrook were recognized as Acting/Singing All-Stars; Destini Simms and Dakoda DaCosta were recognized for their ensemble contribution; and Ms. Grant was recognized for choreography. While there is still room to grow, perhaps then, my gratitude is more of a tribute to the combined effort of educators and students working together, ignoring what many consider the limits of what can be achieved by young people. Their work speaks for itself. And so I thank the professionals, many of whom continue to work with the Falcon Theatre year after year, and who gave their time, talent, and caring to a most special group of students.
When Annie, Jr. first came across my desk, I said to Ms. Grant, our choreographer, 'are you serious? You really want to do Annie? Do you think we can pull it off?' She simply replied with "Yes!" The confidence in her voice told me we were in for a long journey but that she was confident in the ability of our students. Thus, working on this production I'm in this sort of "re-inspiration" place. I find myself remembering and re-exploring the reverence I have for the theatre. I keep remembering what it was like years ago when theatre was fun on so many levels and money was not the most important one. It was spiritual and political and human and other-wordly and full of great passions. During rehearsals, I would remind the cast that people come to the theatre because they have a need for us.... and in a time when investment in the arts is being minimized and in some cases erased, I remind the students that SEED continues to demonstrate its faith in the importance of the arts in education... because there is a need! I am proud to work at a school with such a vision.
My favorite part about Annie, Jr. is that everyone, no matter who you are or where you grew up, has memories of this story. It has taken many forms throughout the years, including a film to be released this fall featuring an African American cast. This is truly a story that transcends time.
In this staging of Annie, Jr., I wanted to stay true to the age-old classic that we all know and love. As a cast we spent a great deal of time talking about who these characters really were and what they would have felt like in that moment of history. It was important to me to stay true to the realism of this tumultuous period and how the story of Annie fits within it.
