Every buried treasure needs a map, and every production needs a script. Goshen High School’s Drama Club advisors Jim Quinlan and Kristen Scully found a fall drama that had both, and for everyone involved, it was an adventure from start to finish. “Everybody likes challenges here,” Quinlan said.
“Who doesn’t like an adventure story?” Scully said. “I read the script, I was like, wow, this sounds like the kids would have a lot of fun.” Deciding on the script for the fall was a process that began well before summer vacation of the 2023-2024 school year. “We had to do auditions in June because we knew the script was going to be a lot,” Kristen said.
“We don’t have to waste the first week of September auditioning,” said Quinlan. The benefits paid off in the time the cast didn’t have to spend rehearsing their lines while memorizing their class schedules coming back from summer vacation. The students got the script before summer vacation, allowing for plenty of time to get ready for the fall.
Jillian Kyrou first joined the Drama Club in sixth grade at CJ Hooker Middle School. Now in 11th grade, Kyrou played Doctor Livesey in Treasure Island, a role that she memorized over the summer. “It was easier in the fall when we came in and I already knew my lines on stage,” Jillian shared.
Dalton Fortugno-Harris, also a junior at GHS that’s been involved in theater since his time at CJ Hooker, said the opportunity to memorize the script over the summer gave this group something special. “It ended up being nice because the cast was able to get to know each other over the summer,” Dalton said. “So I think we were a tighter group than we have been in previous years.”
There are a lot of people that are out to find buried treasure, and to make it all play out on stage smoothly, Jim Quinlan put a call out to Facebook to find someone who had experience with this kind of action playing out on stage. Two people responded, and the result was better than anyone could have imagined. “They taught everybody the basics of fist fighting on stage,” Quinlan said. “They taught small groups the basics of sword fighting, and then they choreographed one larger sword fight scene that came out really good.”
The help from the choreographers not only made it look realistic, but also showed students how to accomplish showing physical conflicts on stage in a way that is safe. “That’s not something that’s usually done a lot at the high school level, at least not done well,” said Scully.
To find a set up to the standard that this Treasure Island production was putting together, Jim and Kristen turned to Joe Fedor, technology teacher at Goshen High School, who delivered in a big way.
The set was a rotating stage with a 25 foot diameter, 200 wheels and a motor that turned one scene into the next. “It was so cool because we could just go into the next scene and it could start while the stage is rotating,” Quinlan said. “It was more visually appealing.”
The rotating stage freed up the crew to manage props and the 16 microphones that were being used during the production. “The crew doesn’t always get seen, but they are working. It’s so much backstage keeping everything running,“ Scully shared. The club advisors credited Brendan Folkl, the production’s lighting designer, for leading the way in making the rotating stage look great.
Nearly half a year in the making, when the night of Treasure Island arrived, the community loved what the drama club had prepared. “My family loved it,” Jillian Kyrou said. “They were so impressed by it; everyone on stage and by all the behind the scenes, too. I think everyone really liked it this year because it was just such a fun plot of a show.”
“They were blown away,” Dalton said of his family and friend’s impression of the show. “The first fight and the sword fight- they thought it was crazy and they felt that everyone really embodied and stuck with their characters for the whole show.”
The success of Treasure Island speaks to the commitment of the students and staff involved in the program now, but Kristen Scully says the bar has been getting raised over and over since she was in high school in Goshen. “In some ways I think the talent from the kids has always been there. I think we’ve put a little more of the staging into the productions over the years to make it a little more full,” Scully said.
“It’s one of my favorites that I’ve ever played,” Jillian said of her character in the play. “I feel like this show, and theater as a whole, really brought everyone out of their shell,” Dalton said of his experience. Jillian and Dalton are both auditioning to be a part of the 60 students on stage for this spring’s production.
Up next for GHS’ Drama Club: Pippin. The club’s advisors intentionally have a musical following a drama, offering a program that has room for anyone that wants to get involved in the theater. Auditions are underway, giving Jim and Kristen a moment to catch their breath. “In the fall shows, you can hone some skills that we can’t really focus on in the musical. So they each kind of have their own perks. If kids are really excited about singing and dancing, this is their opportunity,” Jim said. The entire spring production includes nearly 100 students between the cast and crew.