Interested in participating? You must complete one of the two forms below! We are thrilled to announce our Spring One Acts for 2024. Our team of senior directors will be presenting three totally different short One Acts. Alice by Lindsay Price presents a whimsical new take on the old story. Directed by Veronica Miskavage, Julia Shrier & Nisha Hickok. Antigone Now by Melissa Cooper, based on the Greek tragedy by Sophocles, this poignant drama is about a young woman grappling with her war-torn homeland. Directed by Xander Olszewski. Black Comedy by Peter Shaffer is a delightful farce with mistaken identities, antics and hidden truths that come to light in the dark. Directed by Frankie Fidler & Addie Nevitt Important DatesAUDITIONS FOR SPRING ONE ACTS:
Now's your chance to get involved in something new! Whether on stage or backstage, there are opportunities for everyone: building sets, painting, creating costumes, props, working with sound, lights, or reinventing yourself as a character onstage.
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On Friday, November 4, 2023, Principal Adam Bunting interviewed theater director, Elisa Van Duyne, about the fall 2023 musical, Newsies, being performed this coming weekend Students, Nisha and Jenny, providean all-access, behind-the-scenes tour of preparations for the play. Check out the segment below and then Seize the Day by purchasing your tickets for one of our weekend shows here! (Thanks to Gary Lambert and his crew for putting it all together.) On May 22, new CVU Theatre Director, Elisa Van Duyne, announced that the Fall 2023 Musical will be Disney's Newsies. Newsies is an exciting, poignant musical, based on the New York City newsboy strike of 1899. When young newspaper sellers are exploited beyond reason by their bosses, they band together to enact change against the ruthlessness of big business. As you can see from the video above, we were just a tad excited about the selection of musical! Important Dates(CHECK OUT THE NEW "NEWSIES" DATES OF TECH AND REHEARSAL BELOW OR HERE!)
The word theater has a long history, deriving from the Ancient Greek word theasthai, which means to behold. The spring one-act plays at Champlain Valley Union High School have their own history and traditions, and the plays most definitely will be something to behold.
Rory McDermott and Francesca Krol share directorial responsibilities for Hamlet. When asked how Hamlet can work as a one-act play, McDermott said, “We still have all the important contextual bits that tell the original story.” Students have an opportunity to contribute in a multitude of ways. With their focus on inclusivity, and a commitment to creative collaboration, that’s just the way the CVU students like it.
Performances are at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, May 5 and Saturday, May 6, and 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 7 at the CVU High School Theater. Purchase tickets at TicketSource, or at the door. (Check the ticket site first to ensure the show is not sold out.) Online/advance tickets are $10 for adults; $8 for students, children, and faculty, and $11 and $9 at the door. Anne Mollo (she/they) is a writer and project manager with 30 years of experience across multiple industries, helping organizations bring clarity to the missions, values, and messages they share with their communities. She served for seven years as a voting member of The Schoolhouse Learning Center board of directors, three years as board co-chair. Now a member of the school’s administrative leadership team, she assists with strategic communications and long-term planning. She holds a BA in English from New York University, with a specialization in writing. When not working, Anne enjoys participating in various forms of performance art, including acting, improvisational theater, comedy, and live storytelling. She also co-produces a monthly storytelling event at the Shelburne Vineyard. All three of Anne's children have attended CVU.
The performing arts matter here at CVU! On September 16, 2022, Principal Adam Bunting devoted an entire Friday extended Advisory to interviewing theater director, Stacy Chadwell, about the upcoming fall 2022 musical, Amélie. Student and CVU actor, Frankie Fidler, provides an all-access, behind-the-scenes tour of preparations for the play. In the spring of 2022, CVU students learned that our fall musical would be Amélie. Two weeks before school resumed in August, dozens of students joined Mr. Brownell and me (Stacy) to audition for this whimsical story. Camp officially kicked off with a read-through of the show, with the next few days devoted to the musical score. Students worked their way through every song with Mr. Brownell and set a goal to master and memorize the opening sequence of the show. An intention they met! By the following Friday, 44 students performed the first four numbers with choreography for the CVU faculty and staff.
Layered into this process was the beginning of a larger conversation on content and purpose. Following the read-through, we began to assess what was at stake in the telling of this story. What it meant to survive childhood trauma and neglect. The psychological impact over time. Isolation. Cycles. Breaking cycles. Through the beauty of imagination and the surreal, Amélie manages to balance what might otherwise be heavy content with levity and joy. What a gift in itself. The insights from these students were profound. And as we all came to a unifying understanding of the material and its importance, individual character work began. Much fun was had diving into characters' history, intention, motivation, even the way they walked.
Above all, this story is about connection. How one kind deed offered can ripple its way through a community. A message we are eager to dive more deeply into in this uplifting and creative project. Stacy Chadwell is CVU's Theater Director. Come see Amélie, the charming musical based on the beloved French film, November 11, 12, and 13th, at the CVU Theater.
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