What’s recently happened?
Hanover Central High School presented a spectacular showcase – the “Mamma Mia!” musical through the efforts of the Thespian Society. The performances were dated February 23, 24, and 25. Tickets were only $5.
The storyline follows the character Sophie, a young adult about to be married who lives on a Greek island with her mother, Donna. Sophie does not know who her father is, but she needs someone to give her away at her wedding, so she invites three men who could be her father. This sends Donna off on an emotional spiral as she is forced to deal with long concealed feelings from her past.
Throughout, the Thespian Society utilized comedy well, so the musical brought forth joy and lightheartedness. Prominently, ABBA’s music was woven into the very fabric of the story.
“Their songs are so eclectic,” said Kelly Staton, a choir teacher at Hanover.
It was not just ABBA’s music that made the showings special.
“The cast we have is amazingly talented and awesome. They work really hard to make the show extraordinary,” said Staton.
A lot of people were involved in making the show run properly.
“We have about 60 kids including the tech crew,” said Staton.
All this provides a lot of people the opportunity to take part in building the show. Likewise, the mentality on recruiting actors is quite open at Hanover as fresh talent is sought out.
“No matter what grade you’re in, if you’re the perfect fit for the role, you are getting it,” said Staton.
This was the first time a physical set was used for the performance. In the past, flat pieces of representative scenes were the only available option. Due to the help of the trades classes at Hanover, a physical set was a whole other accomplishment to marvel at.
When it comes to picking a show, shows that were done in the past try not to be repeated twice. Additionally, there is a restriction based on music because of the fact that Hanover lacks a live pit – a recording of the music has to be available either on a CD or on online production tracks. It is quite convenient that the “Mamma Mia!” soundtrack turned out to be available.
In the end, a huge crowd showed up for the production. It has been quite some time since such a large number of seats were filled. Given the quality, it is no surprise that the show gained such notice.
What’s coming up?
Penguin Plop is an upcoming event that will be held on March 2. The act of “plopping” into Cedar Lake has become something of an annual tradition. It is done time and time again not only because it brings forth a thrill of excitement but also because it unites the community.
This is Hanover Schools Education Foundation’s (HSEF) largest fundraising event. Markedly, it is Hanover’s very own assistant principal, Lori Bathurst, who helps to coordinate the event at hand.
“The money we raise provides scholarships for seniors and grants for teachers,” said Bathurst.
Quite notably, this is Bathurst’s fourth year in running the event. HSEF is preparing for the Plop in December; it is during that time of year that sponsors must be found.
This event has been occurring for seven years. Bathurst was astonished with the fact that there were only 16 participants the first year the event was done – last year the number rose all the way to 125 participants.
In an inclusive fashion, the event is open to all age groups.
“We’ve had little kids up to seniors,” said Bathurst.
There are many volunteers involved in helping the entire event run properly. Perhaps the most notable guest has been the cow from Chick-fil-A.
The competition to be found on March 2 is in three categories: who can get the largest group of participants, who can raise the most money, and who can wear the best costume. There is a prize for the winner of each of these categories.
It is a continued hope that the forecast is going to remain warm on March 2 so that no one has to jump into below-freezing water. Though even if the water temperatures did drop, that would not stop the Penguin Plop from successfully happening.
Staff spotlight:
Kelly Staton is the choir teacher at Hanover. She has taught for six years. Previously, she has taught at Griffith High School and Andrean High School.
She teaches beginning, intermediate, advanced women’s, and advanced mix choir. On top of this, she teaches a music history class. She is hoping to start an actual theatre performance class for the following semester.
It is no shock that Staton has been involved in music since her youth.
Staton plays piano as a necessity to teach choir. In middle school, she played the clarinet. She can also play a few brass instruments and the saxophone.
“Now, I’m learning the cello. I’ve always wanted to play a string instrument, so I’m learning,” said Staton. “I actually did not go to school for teaching; I went for vocal performance.”
Staton attended Ball State University as a theatre studies major. However, she wanted to sing more, so she took opera lessons focusing on the classical side of music. Her vocal degree is in opera performance.
This led to Staton’s participation in professional performances in various locations. This includes both Chicago and Indiana regions. Staton also toured with a children’s theatre group on the East Coast, and she even studied opera in Austria.
A lot of effort must be put into singing opera. Staton had to learn Italian, French, German, Polish, and Russian. Thankfully, she knew Spanish already.
“You have to learn how to make your voice loud enough to be heard over an orchestra and reach the grandpa that is sitting in the very back of the auditorium,” said Staton.
Therefore, the concern emerges on what to do to ensure one’s voice isn’t damaged.
Staton uses her own experiences with battling vocal nodules to make certain that her students are safe when developing their voices.
“I always like to show my kids the ‘powerpoint of doom.’ It basically explains what will happen if you don’t take care of your vocal cords,” said Staton.
She has vocally directed “Mamma Mia!” at Hanover. She also choreographs Lake Central High School’s musicals. She is assistant directing and vocal directing “The Little Mermaid” at the Memorial Opera House in Valparaiso too.
Staton is particularly excited about Hanover’s musical production – she is a big fan of ABBA.
“I love ABBA so much. I even have a tattoo from ‘Thank You for the Music.’ The tattoo says, ‘Without a song or a dance, what are we?’ which is very applicable to my life in general,” she said.
Student spotlight:
Mary Toole is a current senior at Hanover who participated in the “Mamma Mia!” production.
Toole has been drawn to theatre since the seventh grade when she first journeyed into the world of acting.
She contributed to the previously mentioned production by acting as a part of the general ensemble. Additionally, she choreographed one of the songs: “Gimme Gimme Gimme,” where she was tasked with taking charge of 20 people..
“I think remembering cues and choreography was a challenging part of it,” said Toole.
Toole attended practice three times a week in the time leading up to the big show.
“I used to deal with stage fright, but now it's kind of second nature. It is easier to manage,” said Toole.
Besides theatre, Toole participates in band and plays the trombone. She enjoys both painting and drawing; in sharing those skills, she painted sets for theatre in the past.
Among other things, Toole has also been in the Girl Scouts and is quite fond of gardening.
Given that Toole is a senior, she is aware of where her future self is headed.
“I enjoy history a lot,” said Toole.
It is because of this that she is going to attend Indiana University Northwest as a history education major.
Coming in with a wistful lens, Toole’s favorite memory from her time at Hanover was hanging out at Buffalo Wild Wings after the theatre productions of the Saturday performances. It turns out this tradition has been going on since before Toole joined the Thespian Society. She is glad it has continued.