Newman's Theater Program—Both Specialized and Accessible

This week’s Community Spotlight shines brightly on Newman’s robust theater program. From the popular International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP) theater course sequence, to a semester-long elective, to Newman’s top notch production company (The Cardinal Theatre Company), there is significant opportunity for students to pursue deep and focused theater interests as well as for newcomers.

Rachel Ollagnon is both the IB Theater teacher and head of The Cardinal Theatre Company. In fact, Rachel became the first IB Theater teacher when she started at Newman four years ago! The theater program currently has about 25 students participating in each after school Cardinal Theatre Company production, 16 students in a semester-long elective, and a total of 26 students divided between the two IBDP theater classes. These IB classes are open to both Full Diploma IB students and IB Course students: out of the 26 IB theatre students, four are currently in the IB Course Pathway and 22 are in the IB DP Pathway. 

Some Newman theater students will go on to pursue majors or minors in theater and/or will participate in future theatrical productions but there are also those who will translate their experience into other creative paths, such as writing, design, or film. Regardless of the end game, skills developed through theater, such as public speaking, communication, collaboration, design, and production, serve our students very well in whatever they decide to pursue. Another huge benefit of being involved in theater at Newman is the opportunity for getting to work so purposefully with students across all grade levels! 

As suggested, the Newman theater program would not be what it is without the excellent leadership of Rachel Ollagnon. When asked what she loves about teaching theater, Ms. Ollagnon, shares that she’s been involved in theater since she was a small child and that she loves that “it is never the same and [she gets to] learn or discover something new all the time.” She started teaching theater when she was working as an actor; she found in addition to “thinking about it, talking about it, [and] doing it, [she loved] sharing [her] passion with others—teaching is a way to do that every day.”

Perfectly aligned with Newman’s values, Ms. Ollagnon leads Newman’s theater program to be  “about humanity and creativity—help[ing] [to] expand our thinking, taking us outside of our comfort zones, giving us perspectives on differences, and allowing for a risk-taking space to explore.” The opportunity to run a theater program within the City of Boston has particular benefits, namely that Boston has such vibrant professional theatre. Being a short walk to multiple venues, students can easily see really interesting and varied performances with high production value. We very much appreciate that Ms. Ollagnon is always offering discounted theater tickets to our community. 

Whether a student has, like Rachel, been involved in theater since a young age or wants to try it out, Ms. Ollagnon encourages all to participate: “theatre gives students a space to think and act differently, to put their brains and bodies in a different place, and to allow their creativity to grow.”

Turning our attention to this semester’s Cardinal Theatre Company’s production, we were thrilled to be able to watch “Number the Stars” on Wednesday and Thursday. The production will roll again on March 8th as part of the MTEG HS Festival. We wish everyone involved fabulous fun and much success!

The production includes a stellar cast as well as many others whose talents and interests are critical in bringing the actors and story to life. When asked to reflect on their involvement in the production, students had a lot to share. The most common thread was how dynamic the process of putting on this production felt for all—from moving into the actual performance space (Boston Center for the Arts) just a day or so before the production, to working with puppets, to grounding the play in history, there were many moving parts. 

Erik B, one of the stage managers and performing as Mr. Rosen on stage, reflected on the welcome challenge of “being able to do many things at once…[of] spend[ing] a lot of time figuring things out with other members of the show which is also a valuable skill in IB theater.”

Rory J, also with two roles—as one of the stage managers and as puppet maker—enjoyed the convergence of their interest in art and theater. They are not in IB Theater, but rather taking IB Art. They loved the new challenge of making the puppets and even just several days before the production, choreographing the puppets’ stage movements. They hope “to be able to apply what [they] have learned making puppets in future productions.”

And Adele DzE, costume designer, was also a critical member of the production team. She loves theater, science, and history. Taking two IB sciences means she cannot be in IB Theater so she especially appreciates that The Cardinal Theatre Company allows [her] to do theatre without having to choose between [her] love for theatre and the sciences. One of her favorite parts of working on this production is that she enjoyed using “history to find out what people wore at the time and [to] try to find the most historically accurate costumes. [She] also enjoy[ed] using costumes to make links in the play…[A]n example of this is that different colour schemes make the audience be able to know who is part of [which] family.” 

While dealing with a very serious subject matter, “Number the Stars” drew the audience in through a myriad of emotions—through all aspects of the dynamic characters. Aster E, an accomplished Junior who has enjoyed being in every show since coming to Newman Freshman year, particularly loved getting to “let out [their] inner child and be as dramatic as [they] want[ed]! [As Kirstie,] [i]t [was] fun to throw temper tantrums and run around being a little girl who just has fun with life!” Aster’s approach to theater at Newman and their reflection on this role captures much about Newman’s theater program—it is grounded in serious creative work while also giving Newman students opportunities for trying on new roles (whether on stage or in terms of contributing different skill-sets to a production). Last of all, evidenced by the palpable enthusiasm of both Company members and the audience, Newman theater is always a venue for having fun together!