Director’s Note—I am Frankenstein
I am Frankenstein by John Haman is a recent adaptation of Mary Shelley’s celebrated 1818 novel Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus. In 2019, Mr. Haman developed it with and for high school productions to adjust the opportunities and messaging for a high school audience. In the two centuries since Shelley’s novel was published, this seminal piece has been mined for its messages about creation, nature, ambition, fate, family, prejudice, and many more. In fact, the novel is still taught in schools and the adaptations abound because Mary Shelley created something so rich in possibility. This adaptation warns of the uncontrollable nature of creation at a time when we are urgently considering the societal and global impacts of artificial intelligence. But Mary Shelley also deserves recognition, and this adaptation does that.
Mary Shelley is a character in the play and, given that she is often credited as the mother of science fiction, it is no accident that Mary Shelley appears in her own “writing” as Victor Frankenstein’s mother and as interacting with her creations. She is supported by her Greek Chorus of sorts, the Blackbirds, who often act as her conscience. She also gets the chance to directly address her eventual husband Percy Shelley and Lord Byron, male poets who pursued a life with much more reckless ambition than her status would have allowed as a woman in the 18th and 19th centuries.
We are extraordinarily proud to present this show to you. The nearly 70 students involved have overcome tremendous challenges to pull together a fright fest and serious drama we hope you won’t forget anytime soon. I am personally very proud of those students from the Class of 2024 who are the heart of this theatre program. They started their high school career online and have never given up on their passion and pursuit of theatre even when the obstacles seemed insurmountable. They have helped grow a program we hope to continue to expand and have set an excellent example for their peers. Wheaton High School is lucky to have them, and I am lucky to know them.
--Jessica Speck
About Our Director
Jessica Speck is enjoying her 26th year as a teacher in Montgomery County Public Schools. Over that time, she has directed dozens of plays and musicals and sponsored countless student-directed productions at four MCPS High Schools. She is a triple-certified teacher of Theatre, Mathematics and English. Over the years, she has taught every Theatre course offered in MCPS, all levels of math, ninth, tenth and eleventh grade English and many other courses as needed. In addition to her classroom duties, Mrs. Speck is the lead teacher for the Global Studies Academy. Mrs. Speck is most proud of her two non-theatre productions, a college junior named Liv and an eleventh grader named Ivy that are still “in development” with the never-ending support and love from her husband, Jason Speck.
