TAKING THE STAGE

The Monett Drama Department is hoping to expand its offerings next year with major productions in the spring and fall, as well as a series of smaller-scale performances sprinkled throughout the year.

OFF THE BEATEN PATH

When most people think of the life lessons learned in high school, they think of traditional educational experiences like history and English classes, or the physical highs and lows of hardworking athletics departments. But one often overlooked experience in Monett is expanding its efforts and endeavoring to teach students teamwork, confidence and the joys of entertainment.

At Monett High School, Matthew Kiewiet’s drama program aims to get students involved in everything from set design and lighting to acting and even public speaking.

Kiewiet said there are exciting new developments in the school theater program that aims to see more productions and wider participation by offering different avenues for students who may not necessarily feel comfortable in the limelight, or who are more interested in the technical side of theater production.

“Next year we’re going to have costumers and stagecraft in theater 1,” Kiewiet said. “We want to create awareness for students who aren’t aware of how much you can do behind the scenes.”

This year, in the theater department, Kiewiet said there are between 20 and 25 students working in stagecraft, 10 working in costuming and makeup and 25 students participating in speech and debate, a program he said goes hand-inhand with acting.

In addition to the behind-the-scenes work, various productions could enlist up to 18 actors appearing on stage.

Kiewiet said he approaches the theater department with the same principals as many high school athletics coaches. It’s a fact that most star varsity players will never go on to perform at the professional level.

Likewise, Kiewiet said the program isn’t about teaching students how to make a career out of acting, singing or stagecraft, it’s about creating connections and important life lessons like teamwork, preparation and cooperation.

“The goal of the classes and the department in general is collaboration,” he said. “That’s a lifelong skill that you can take anywhere and that can be applied in any field. And I want to teach these kids about being good communicators.”

Kiewiet also said there is a huge social aspect to the drama department that brings students together with a shared interest and goal.

“Finding a sense of community is very important,” he said. “For these students, I want to make sure they have a place to go where they know there are people like them and give them a sense of safety. They get to come together and create pieces of art. From the actors to the set designers, they come together and spend months creating a world other people get to see, and I really hope to see more students latch onto that.”

When most people think of high school theater departments they typically think of young thespians performing Shakespeare before an audience, but as Monett’s Theater department expands, teacher Matthew Kiewiet is putting a stronger focus on other aspects of the productions, like costuming, set building, lighting and audio.

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The theater department has traditionally held two performances each year, one in the fall, and a second in the spring, with the fall production being a full-length play and the spring offering hosting smaller productions based on teaching the students both movement and lines.

Kiewiet said he hopes to see that grow to include reader theater and one act performances that give the young thespians more opportunities to take to the stage with shorter, single act performances throughout the year, as well as full-length productions in the spring and fall.

He said students are consulted when it comes time to perform the major plays, but selecting each individual production is a task in and of itself, as hosting a play comes with a cost.

“The students have suggestions, but with how expensive rights can be, we always have to ask ourselves if we can get approved for the rights,” he said. “Normally, rights for a play run between $1,500 and $3,000. And that’s just the rights. That’s before costumes or anything like lumber for sets.

The department also has to take into consideration how many students are available and interested in acting in a performance as well as how elaborate costumes and sets will be.

Kiewiet also said there are a lot of opportunities for students to earn scholarships, awards and accolades, both from their stage performances and for the stagecraft students. “We work with the International Thespian Society, the Missouri Thespian Society and the Theater Honor Society, and every year the Thespian Conference hosts workshops and crew members can also be inducted with actors,” he said. “You can also be inducted with actors and you get to earn points at the conference, which has competitions geared toward theater tech.” n