Date: Fri 03-Nov-1995

Publication: Bee

Author: AMYD

Quick Words:

NHS-drama-gay-relationships

Full Text:

Students And Faculty Weave A Play Out Of Contemporary Experience

B Y A MY D'O RIO

Even though Broadway is in a creative slump and Hollywood is remaking remakes,

at least one theater company is fertile with new ideas.

Practically everything about the upcoming Newtown High School Drama Club

production, Glass Houses , charts new territory.

The plot lines broach sensitive topics, and the play provides unfiltered

insights into what goes on in the minds of teens.

Glass Houses, opening Friday at Newtown Middle School, marks another creative

milestone: the play is not only being performed and directed by Newtown High

School students and staff, it has been written by them too.

Glass Houses is an original script based on stories written earlier this year

by three Newtown teenagers: Audra Griss, Melanie Roeder and Christine LaPorte.

Their stories delved into homosexuality and homophobia, suicide, teen

drinking, love and the general trials and tribulations of high school.

With their permission, Newtown High School English teacher Jeanetta Miller,

who is directing Glass Houses with students Tracy Otwell and Sarah Cwikla,

decided to weave the threes stories into a full play.

"It has been one of the most exciting things to happen to me," Mrs Miller

said.

Due to this teacher rediscovering her love for writing plays, the Drama Club

and creative writing students took a unique journey this year, showing many of

them aspects of writing and theater they had not previously known.

The three young women saw firsthand how a play is written, and they worked

collaboratively with their teacher, providing guidance line by line.

Because they are now away at college, none of them can attend the production,

but they will be given videotapes of it so they can see what their short

stories acted out as a play.

As for the Drama Club members, "they found out they were writers as well as

actors," Mrs Miller said. "This is a play that has literally been written by

30 people."

The cast honed the play's characters and dialogue as well as taking on the

challenge of a fresh play. In her bill notes, Mrs Miller noted this involved

risk and commitment.

"I am fiercely proud of the talent, high standards, dedication and courage of

the students," she wrote.

Mrs Miller said the club was tentative about doing Glass Houses at first. The

young thespians were used to picking a play, and then, watching performances

of it to get an idea of how they should handle it.

"Gradually, I think all of them realized what an incredible opportunity this

is," Mrs Miller said.

Mrs Miller is not the teacher who usually runs the fall drama production. Ann

Doyle, the choral director, has been doing it, but due to a busy schedule,

could not this year.

Mrs Miller said Newtown High School Principal William Manfredonia pulled her

into his office last school year and asked if she would interested in working

with the Drama Club students.

He knew she had experience working in the theater as a playwright.

"Instead of saying the sensible, `No thank you,' I jumped at the chance," she

said.

Mrs Miller knew directing would take an enormous chunk of her time this fall.

She can only surmise it was her love of writing that prompted her to add to

the challenge and take on an original play.

The play follows a male student, Jim, who puzzles his friends by harassing an

underclassman. Later, after Jim's attempted suicide, they discover their

friend is grappling with the thought that he might be gay.

The play also follows a couple, Beth and Henry. Henry is a senior and getting

ready for college. The couple deals with the impending separation. Then, there

is Anna. Her parents are divorcing, and the way she chooses to deal with split

is through drinking.

Mrs Miller said she went over the play's subject matter with school

administration, and they all decided that if might offend some, but it has

been written tastefully and handled responsibly.

"We addressed it in a play so that people could grow from it," she said. "We

are not out to shock or offend anyone."

Mrs Miller said she is taking a brief break after the play concludes, and then

she plans to start an after-school playwriting group. Maybe even another Glass

Houses will spring forth, she said.

Tickets for the play, $6 for adults and $4 for students and seniors, will be

available at the door. Performances are at 7:30 pm this Friday and Saturday at

Newtown Middle School's auditorium.