Theater, for many, is a place of community, a place of shared experiences and a place where you can find yourself. Over the course of four years, people involved in theater have grown connections, both among themselves and to the theater itself. Stepping up from the small pool of middle-school theater into the huge ocean of ETHS theater as a freshman is nerve-wracking and a huge leap to take. But that was four years ago, and now seniors have grown even within the high school. Starting in freshman-sophomore plays, with the pressure of having to prove themselves, to being a senior on the big stage, in musicals, and in YAMO. Many have become the very same theater seniors that they used to look up to.
“It feels so odd to be a senior because when I was younger, it felt like it was never gonna happen, but now I am here, and I am trying to soak it all in!” explains Rocco Dipadova, senior, who’s been involved in theatre for all four years of his high school career, starting with “Clue” and ending with ETHS’ recently closed “Hadestown.”
From beginning with a minor role in “Clue” to finishing as a lead in “Hadestown,” Dipadova is an example of the success story that many seniors get to experience. Growing from a freshman into a huge mainstage role is no small task.
Senior Paula Hlava shared a similar experience starting in theatre with “Metamorphosis” and ending with YAMO ‘68.
“I just remember being so nervous doing theater my freshman year,” recalls Hlava. “I’d be so nervous for rehearsal, even though everyone there couldn’t be more kind and welcoming.”
Starting in theater as a freshman means looking up to the seniors and, as Hlava continues, “thinking that they look so old and act so mature! I idolized them. Growing into that has been so surreal.”
Senior Sam Consilgio started with “Metamorphosis” four years ago and was just in “Hadestown.”
“It’s definitely a weird feeling to become a senior. I remember when I was a freshman or sophomore, and there were a few seniors (especially senior girls) that I just thought were so cool and talented, and I really just loved them overall. I still haven’t really processed in my head that I’m not an underclassman, so even when I do something like directing YAMO, I forget that I’m actually this old until somebody else reminds me,” states Consiglio.
Theater has brought this group of seniors together, as it has with the seniors before them.
“Theater has definitely helped me find a home at ETHS. If I’m having a bad day or am feeling stressed out, I know I’m always welcome in the upstairs theater no matter what…I have made friends for life and my chosen family through ETHS theater, and I’m so grateful for that,” remarks Hlava
ETHS theater has been a vehicle for powerful stories as well as the storytellers on and behind the scenes who help deliver them to audiences night after night.
“I’ve been in 14 shows here, and each of them has changed me in its own way, or at least, I’ve walked away with new information about myself. I think back to my freshman self, who was so hesitant to keep doing theater and how unsure she was, and I laugh when I think about how now I’m going to college in NYC for the very same thing, laughing and smiling with my friends that I made through theater!… If you ever feel a little unsure about something, like “oh, I don’t know if I can do that,” you have all the resources and support to try it and learn from it. Overall, I’m just super grateful for how this community has helped shape me as an artist,” reflects Consiglio.
