Lights, Camera, Action: CRSM Student Thespians Learn from Chicago Playwright

Lights, Camera, Action: CRSM Student Thespians Learn from Chicago Playwright

Already plans are underway for opening night.  Stage sets are being designed.  Budding actors are auditioning for lead roles. The 40 students enrolled in the Introduction to Drama class are buzzing with anticipation for this year’s coming production in April.

What could possibly be more exciting than this?

How about having a noted Chicago playwright co-teaching the class?

Enter Michael Wagman, a playwright and actor who has written for and performed in Second City, and several Chicago theaters. He is volunteering his time four days a week after school to help students write “Scene-a-palooza,” which will debut April 21st. The production will be created by four teams, each who will write a 10-minute mini-play.

“It’s a unique and busy time for us,” said Elizabeth Partenach, CRSM English and Theater teacher. “We’re preparing for our Spring production and it’s a lot of fun for me having a real playwright helping coach students. It’s also very exciting for the students. Meeting a real live playwright helps them see playwriting as a viable career option. I’m anticipating this will be a transformative experience.”

For students in Elizabeth’s drama class, the opportunity to work hand-and-hand with Michael, a professional theater scribe “exposes them not just to the writing, but also how the props, acting, music and lighting work together to tell the story,” she said.

Currently Wagman is a stay-at-home dad living in Elgin and caring for his almost two-year-old-son. He said he was excited to receive the invitation from Elizabeth, a friend from their college days in DePaul University’s theater program. In addition to playwriting, he’s also appeared on stage in several Chicago-area productions including Strangeloop Theatre’s production of Mitera and Ghostlight’s 2016 production of “Krampus!” He was Co-Artistic Director at Ghostlight and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Playwriting from De Paul.

During a recent class, Wagman suggested to students that “everyone’s writing style is different, so do what is comfortable for you.” He urged students to explore the story that is inside of them that is waiting to be told. “Everybody has a story and there is so much energy around you discovering what is the story you need to tell. And remember you are valuable, all your ideas, opinions and feelings are valuable, and we need and want you to bring them all to theater and to have fun!”

Lights, Camera, Action: Drama Club Takes to CRSM’s New Stage

Lights, Camera, Action: Drama Club Takes to CRSM’s New Stage

It was a tough year in education for everyone. Little in-class time and so many Zoom rooms. But try running a drama club on Chrome books.

The good news: The CRSM thespians are back, 65 students strong — bigger and better than ever. Two afternoons a week, they’re busy rehearsing, directing, building stage sets, designing costumes, and creating a publicity plan for the March 3, 4, 5 and 6, 2022, performance of Dracula, their sixth drama and first on CRSM’s new stage.

“It’s my freedom,” says Sofia, a junior, a member of the stage crew. “The drama club is a safe place where all of us can be creative and express our true selves.”

Alyssa, a sophomore and producer for the play says, “I was super quiet when I was a freshman and never would have put myself out there. But Mrs. P encouraged me and now I am so happy and loving this.”

Amid a tough year, Elizabeth Partenach, English and theater teacher, had a front row seat to the highs and lows of the extraordinary year of schooling in a pandemic. Though those challenges took a toll on many educators, she kept her students motivated and the hope for a vital theatrical troupe alive with her tenacity, charm, and commitment.

Operating from a hybrid schedule of at-home virtual learning and distanced learning in the classroom, she was dogged in her determination not to lose momentum for CRSM’s arts and humanities endeavors. A mom of two, she often had a co-creator at her side, eight-year-old daughter Gloria. Gloria, who was doing her own second grade remote learning, often commuted to CRSM with her mom and became an honorary part of the student body attending gym classes, physics and shadowing her mom. (Pictured above.)

She worked hard to keep her students emotionally connected and engaged in learning.

Partenach is passionate about the potential of theater to transform student’s lives.

“There are some students who were very shy and scared when they were freshman, but the drama club welcomed them into the fold,” she says. “Here they find camaraderie, and great support creating something together. You can physically feel the energy of them growing and discovering their own unique talents and gifts.”

Dracula promises surprises big time. “We said, let’s dream big,” says Partenach, There will be flying bats, trap doors and Dracula in a coffin.

“The play and the club are giving students the chance to express things they might not get to express. It shows them that there is something bigger and that they are valued and celebrated.”