The Revere Players unveiled their new play Treasure Island between November 14 and 17 and added several additions to their leadership and advertising.
From November 14 to 17, Revere Players debuted their fall play, Treasure Island. The play is an action-packed story about a group of rogue pirates searching for treasure. It includes plenty of sword fights and double-crossing. Alongside the action-oriented plot, it comes with plenty of changes. It acts as a transitional point for Players as a whole, new legacies in student body leadership, as well as district-wide events.
The new opportunities that create an experience that benefits the players lead to an exciting new atmosphere in the play, which allows for more engaging hands-on collaboration with everyone involved. Everyone from the administration to the backstage crew has a new perspective on the experience and what this new play cycle has entailed.
Principal Doug Faris talks about his role as an administrator in helping the Players’ achieve their goals.
“One of the things I do is make sure that student leadership is recognized school-wide. Which I try to do each October when I recognize a couple of students at a board meeting for their accomplishments. I recognized a player this year as I have been able to do that for many Revere Players over the years,” Faris said.
Faris explains the process he followed when the Players unveiled their ideas for the year.
“They came to me, and I wanted to show as much support as possible. So whatever they wanted to do that was possible, I let them. The initiation and planning was all their leadership; I just gave them the thumbs up,” Faris said.
Faris elaborates on the idea of keeping the impacts of current student leadership felt for years to come and describes what he has done to help. As far as managing the school-wide participation spectrum of the play.
“My role as administrator is to open up new opportunities for the students. Players have been excellent at keeping my job light in that regard because there is so much talent on board. There is not much I do directly, and I just try to open the doors for them,” Faris says.
Faris has managed to recognize students in Players this year for their student leadership accomplishments.
“I recognized Bane Thurman for his work as student president. One of the publicity stunts he did at the meeting was doing a monologue in front of everyone, which got a lot of applause by the end of it,” Faris said.
Bane Thurman acts as one of the leads in Treasure Island. He has helped spearhead much of the movement to make this play a district-wide event with advertising and publicity. He also helps to leave a legacy he wants to leave on the leadership body. Especially in regards to district-wide, and community-wide participation, and bridging the gap between backstage crew.
“For players, this year has been a massive transitional moment. We have added a lot of ambition to the show that we haven’t done in the last four years, such as the fight scenes. We’ve also worked hard to bridge the gap between the actors and the backstage crew. Originally, they were two very separate entities, but now we’re really merging them into one cohesive group,” Thurman said.
Thurman worked extremely hard to ensure that the play was as widely known around the district as any sports event would be.
“On top of the posters, I created a commercial for the play we put on the afternoon announcements. We’ve also worked with Mr. Faris to include the play on spirit week. We have a district-wide ‘Dress Like a Pirate Day’ as well as a scavenger hunt at the middle school, in which the prize is free tickets to the show,” Thurman said.
Beyond Thurman’s role as a student leader, his job as an actor has been more difficult than usual for the show.
“Treasure Island has been the most difficult play to do because there are a lot of fight scenes. We put a lot of effort into the props and the action more than we did the characters. We also did training with the swords and prop guns, and we spent a full week just preparing for that, which we’ve never done before,” Thurman said.
Despite how much the play may affect the district and Revere Players themselves, it also expands beyond the school and into the community.
“We [did] something similar to what we did last year for Cinderella, where we performed a little kids version in the public library. But this time we are also doing it for elementary school. We have also organized it with drawing contests in which the prize is free tickets. I know these events will end up being staples of players that will be here to stay,” Thurman said.
Norah Brownlee is the co-president of Revere Players and the organizer of the public library event. She, too, has had a different experience with the play this year, especially in regard to the legacy she and Thurman intend to leave behind.
“The idea behind the public library and elementary school performances is that we are trying to secure the future of Players. These kids are going to see these performances and get excited about acting or maybe awaken a new interest in them. These kids will determine our program’s future. So this whole thing was incredibly important to us,” Brownlee said.
Like Thurman, Brownlee has also managed to create a much more worthwhile experience with players this year.
“We have all grown as performers and people. One of the best examples is that all the seniors and I have grown alongside our director, english teacher [Sarah] Pine. She started when we were freshmen, so we all have grown with her just as she has. As a result, we know what to expect from her and vice-versa,” Brownlee said.
Brownlee shares a level of enthusiasm that the rest of the crew matches.
“Truly, I have never been more excited for a show. I think it is going to be our best one yet,” Brownlee said.
Pine, shares the same sentiments as the crew. She expresses hope and excitement for the play alongside her entire crew. She has been continuously impressed with the amount of love the student leadership and the entire crew have expressed.
“The help we’ve gotten with the play goes beyond just the Players; around ten percent of the entire leadership body have put their hands in to help the production,” Pine said.
Pine reflects on the time she has spent working on the different productions with the crew since she started just four years ago. She also looks back upon the students she has managed to not only work with but also grow with as a director.
“This is my fourth year directing the fall play. What makes this one so unique is that these are kids who also started when I started. We have both come up together and grown together, and we all know what I want from them. The collaboration with this production is really the best it has been in a while,” Pine said.
Pine’s increased comfort with the cast has been the root cause of why this play is the most ambitious since she started.
“I would not have done everything I wanted to with this production if I did not know the cast as well as I do,” Pine said.
Pine’s role as director has also been altered due to the new opportunities provided by student leadership.
”We have a lot going on this year. There are the new contests we have at the middle and elementary school, as well as the little kids performances and the district-wide ‘Dress Like a Pirate Day.’ It is a lot this year, but the play is in precisely the spot I want it to be. I think the future of Players is looking bright,” Pine said.
The backstage crew has also been helping with leadership this year. One member, Annabelle Steiner, has been noticing the effects of the improved connection between the cast and backstage crew.
“My primary role on the backstage crew is being the lighting director and tech co-director. I control the spotlights and the technology in the back behind the seats. I work with everyone back there to ensure all the marks are hit correctly,” Steiner said.
Despite this, Steiner’s role as a leader has expanded beyond just the lights.
”I always had a decent amount of creative liberty to collaborate with the directors and play around with what I wanted to do. But now I am much more in the loop with actual board decisions, and I manage to represent the tech crew,” Steiner said.
Steiner is grateful for Thurman and Brownlee’s contributions towards making Revere Players more of a cohesive hive mind.
”Thurman and Brownlee have done an excellent job of bringing us all together and keeping us collaborating on a higher level,” Steiner said.
Stage manager Evie Brackett has taken over as stage manager after three years of backstage work. Her new role has come with a lot of upgrades to leadership opportunities. Though, the ambition of the play has not escaped her job.
“As stage manager, I move things around; I am in charge of raising and lowering the curtains, and I also tell people where to move things in between scenes. I’ve also been put in charge of doing the sound effects as well, which are a new addition,” Brackett said.
The connections between backstage crew and cast members Thurman and Brownlee have been pushing to improve have been felt. As Brackett was given several new additions to her job on top of her role as stage manager.
“With the new and improved link between the cast and crew, this is also the first year where a stage manager has automatically been a part of the board, which wasn’t the case previously,” Brackett said.
Nevertheless, Brackett still keeps her effort to a maximum as she expresses her excitement for the show.
“This year has certainly kept me far more busy than the others. But I think it is coming together as a really excellent show,” Brackett said.
Treasure Island has wrapped production, and their last show was November 17. The transition for the Players is an exciting new beginning for not only the upcoming spring musical, but also the future of players as a whole. Their musical was announced as How to Succeed at Business Without Really Trying, and auditions will soon follow alongside a newly revamped leadership style.
