Tossed in the Spotlight
The Burncoat Theatre Department has been known for putting on amazing shows. The past few productions included: Little Shop of Horrors, The 39 Steps, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and A Christmas Story, all directed by Aimee Kewley and Jeremy Woloski. On top of Burncoat Theatre's regular shows, every November, Worcester Arts Magnet, Burncoat Middle and Burncoat High School get together to put on the Fine Arts Magnet Extravaganza, or FAME; which has been a tradition in supporting all fine arts magents. Each school showcases their music, dance, art and theatre capabilities in order to raise money for the arts. Usually, this event takes place at Worcester Technical High School, but on November 20th, the three schools took to the Burncoat Middle School's auditorium to first. rehearse, and later on perfect their performances for Friday night.
It's no secret that Burncoat's auditorium is in need of renovations. Under the circumstances and small budget, it's simply limiting ability of the show to showcase its full potential. Although some of the school's administration made an effort to assist in running a professional production, it ultimately should have been left to the educators who are knowledgable in their field. With too many hands, difficulty was created during tech week and rehearsals, in the end leaving many students, teachers, and parents agitated at the somewhat, "unorganized" outcome.
Upon call time, the public entered the house earlier than permitted, a large amount of people skipped out on paying for their ticket and entered the show for free, ultimately losing an immense amount of money for the arts department. The wooden seats, covered with vulgar graffiti, a majority of them being broken and not handicapped-accessible made it unsafe for audience. The sound system and acoustics were laughable and the twenty-year-old light board was only able to provide the most basic layout of a lighting display. Outside, the police officer was given little instruction on how to direct traffic resulting in a shortage of parking space. The original intention was that the money raised from FAME would be going back to the arts. With "The Aud", as it is referred to by the students in the theatre magnet, being in atrocious shape, the need for funding is clearly displayed.
Despite its grim atmosphere, Burncoat Theatre has always managed to put on fantastic productions, purely based on the talented individuals involved; their passion and love for the art remains the true star of the show. This year, the theatre magnet has already progressed their fundraising efforts in the form of a bake sale at Stop and Shop, as well as a Yankee Candle sale. The future holds many more fundraising opportunities and already scheduled events. This money will go towards providing sets, costumes and paint for shows, funding BHS Theatre's annual trip to New York City to see a Broadway show, and travel costs for Burncoat's Drama Club.
Burncoat Theatre has been recycling old sets into new ones for as long as our theatre teachers can remember, as well as using out-of-pocket money to buy costumes, paint, etc., and they simply cannot afford it any longer. The New York trip might not even occur this year due to such limited funds. The technical theatre aspect of the curriculum cannot be taught with the already inefficient equipment they have. This past month the Junior and Senior theatre class went to Worcester State University to try and supplement the technical theatre units. It goes to show, Theatre needs you! Please continue to support the Theatre Department by helping with fundraising or coming to a show! Anything contributed is accpeted with open arms and much appreciated as everything helps giving back to the underwhelming environment, displaying the extraordinary talent Burncoat has to offer.