Whodunnits and Fairytales

THE ARTS

FWCD theatre-goers enjoyed a “whodunnit” and a fairytale this year, as Upper School students in the Department of Fine Arts showcased CLUE in November 2021 and Shrek the Musical in February 2022. Siouxsie Easter made her FWCD directorial debut as Upper School Theatre Director. Easter came to the School from New York, where she was a Professor of Theatre at Wells College for 18 years. Throughout her career, she has taught directing, acting, Shakespeare, improvisation, dramatic literature, theatre history, and directed and performed in more than 75 productions. Some of her favorites include Twelfth Night, Eurydice, The Maids, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Rumors.

Easter has earned the Excellence in Directing from the Theatre Association of New York State (10 times) and Meritorious Achievement in Directing (four times). She has an impressive record of service to the theatre community and field, including board membership, article reviewer, consultant, and youth mentor judge. Easter holds a BA in Speech and Theatre at the University of Montevallo (Alabama), an MEd at the University of North Carolina- Greensboro, and an MFA at Goddard College (Vermont).

Easter’s method with students: collaboration and a sense of adventure. “It is so much fun coming up with ideas with the cast. We always laugh a lot in rehearsals,” Easter said. “It takes an ensemble of dedicated people to put on a show.” She loves seeing plays come to life after reading the scripts.

She chose CLUE as her first FWCD play because she loves the board game and figured the cast could play the game together before rehearsals started to get to know one another and get into character in a low-key, comfortable setting. “It was great for me as a new-to-FWCD person to see all the energy in the room,” she noted.

While CLUE provided fantastic roles for the students, the show provided a challenge. “Fitting everything on stage with over-the-top characters interacting in multiple rooms was one of the biggest challenges,” she noted. “I’m sure you all remember the game …” According to the rules of the Hasbro game, players must “deduce the details of the murder [the cards in the envelope]. There are six characters, six murder weapons, and nine rooms, leaving the players with 324 possibilities.”

Led by Wadsworth the Butler (Nic Medaris ’23), the whodunnit featured Miss Scarlett (Sydney Cyprian ’22), Professor Plum (Vie Walker ’22), Mrs. White (Eliana Garcia ’23), Mr. Green (Aramis Moreno ’22), Mrs. Peacock (Olivia Kersh ’24), and Colonel Mustard (Aedan McCormack ’25) and their race to find the killer.

“I think this is one of, if not the most, challenging musicals I’ve ever been a part of at FWCD, and although that is the case, it is also the most fun I’ve ever had in a musical. ”

~ Sadie Schuster ’22

With the help of Technical Theatre Director Eric Tysinger and his tech crew, Easter and the cast rose to the challenge to put on a show that brought the game to life. In the end, Easter was wowed by the 31 cast and crew members, which included new and experienced actors and production members.

“Challenging plays are so much fun because they are like a big puzzle that many people work hard on to complete,” Easter said. “From the first rehearsal we had with three competitive games of CLUE, to the blocking rehearsals where the students worked so hard on the timing of the zanier moments, to the addition of the wonderful technical elements in later rehearsals, CLUE was full of non-stop energy!”

The never-to-be-missed FWCD spring musical did not disappoint in February. Shrek the Musical featured 32 Upper School students, and the show was Easter’s first foray into musical theatre. Luckily, she had Cyprian as her Assistant Director. Cyprian also assisted Natalie Bracken ’05 with the choreography. Allie Cross ’24 and Lilah Firestone ’25 served as Stage Managers. The show featured the characters we all know and love: Shrek (Walker), Fiona (Jazmine Gomez ’22 ), Donkey (Moreno), Lord Farquaad (Medaris), Dragon (Cyprian), and Pinocchio (Gracie Cross ’22).

“I think this is one of, if not the most, challenging musicals I’ve ever been a part of at FWCD, and although that is the case, it is also the most fun I’ve ever had in a musical,” said Sadie Schuster ’22, who played teen Fiona, the Gingerbread Man, and the Sugarplum Fairy.

While excited and nervous all at once for the performances, Easter knew the cast and crew would put on a “Shrektacular” show. Her favorite part? The end. “No, really, the end is full of great action and musical numbers,” Easter said. “It takes a lot of people to make a successful musical. I am so grateful to my colleagues, Mrs.[Chelsy] Beninate, Mr. [Eric] Tysinger, Ms. Bracken, Mrs. [Cathy] Gullo, Mrs. [Valorie] Flaherty, and Mrs. [Erin] Ypya, for all they did and for keeping me laughing.”

Easter has already made an impact on her students at FWCD. “Mrs. Easter was an amazing director and so supportive of our activities outside the musical,” Schuster said. “She fosters a comfortable and compassionate environment and cares for her students.”

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