Story and photos by: Izzie Martin ’30
When I visited Freeman Theater, I found it was full of middle schoolers who were having fun working on helping bring the play The Little Mermaid, to life. The Winter Term course called Seldom Scene met during the morning session. Seventh and Eighth graders were hard at work preparing the stage, lights, and costumes for the upcoming production. Our Drama Teacher, Mr. Storey, taught this Winter Term course.
Seldom Scene is usually an Upper School project that helps with the technical aspects of plays, but for this Winter Term, it’s all about Middle School! By the end of this course, the students gained the ability to work light boards, build set pieces, and paint the set. A group of five was set with the task of painting the props and wooden boxes on stage. They also did heavy lifting, carrying the furniture. The girls to work on this were Vivienne Schwarzen ’29, Garryn Jackson ’29, Rayna Ahmad ’29, Piper Davis ’29, and Alayna Wright ’29.
Mr. Storey said, “I wanted more people to learn how to work lights and how backstage works.” Issy Myers ’29 said, “I’m looking forward to making the canoe and cutting it out and painting it.”
“Seldom Scene is about the design of the backstage, for example, costumes, lights, audio, and the stage itself,” said Mrinali Kaswan ’29. Spencer Levison ’28 said, “We have to work together or else it won’t work.”
When talking about lighting, the ideal thing is simplicity, so for the production, they wanted simple lighting. It was fun to watch them put in so much effort on the stage and props.
Remember next time you’re watching a play, don’t just appreciate the acting, appreciate the stuff that builds it up as well.