To the Editor:
I’m writing on behalf of the students of the ORR High School Drama Club and the Friends of Old Rochester Drama, to state how disappointed we are in the administration of the high school and superintendent in the handling of the replacement of the Drama Club director. This position became vacant at the end of the school year, June 2018. The administration has waited until 2 weeks before the start of the new school year to post the position internally (per the contract they have to post internally first for a period of two weeks) before going outside the school system to hire a new director. This should have been taken care of immediately, once it was known that a new director would be needed for the 2018-2019 school year. They should have known how long it takes to produce the amazing shows that the ORR Drama Club puts on twice a year. Auditions for the Fall show are held the 2nd week of school in September, with rehearsals beginning immediately thereafter. That is for a show that will be staged either the weekend before Thanksgiving or the weekend after (approximately 10 weeks of rehearsal time, not to mention the hours of weekend time it takes to build a set and the days, nights, and weekends spent creating the beautiful costumes that adorn the students and bring them into the worlds that they are portraying). And let’s not forget about the lessons in lighting, sound, stage managing, and all of the other “techie” jobs that are so important to these shows in making them the best in high school theatre in the Southcoast. Due to the lack of thought and total disregard of the ORR Drama Club from the Administration, the ORR Drama Club will NOT be producing the highly anticipated “White Christmas”, which was to have been staged Nov 30 – Dec 2 of this year. There is simply not enough time to produce this show, given the fact that school is about to start this week, and there is no Drama Club Director in place. If someone should be hired in the next few weeks, now that the position has been posted externally, perhaps there’s a chance for a simple play, with not much of a cast, set or costumes, and with any luck, the students will still be able to have their Spring Musical of “Anything Goes”. Let’s hope the administration finds someone as capable as the former director, so to keep up the reputation of the greatest in high school theatre.
Sincerely,
Lisa Cardoza
President, Friends of Old Rochester Drama
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