SHENANDOAH — Trinity Academy students known as “The Ciszek Players” will take to the stage this weekend to perform the school’s first musical for a fun time for the audience and the actors.
“Adventures of a Comic Book Artist” will be performed at Annunciation BVM Hall in Frackville on Friday and Saturday with the curtain rising at 7:30 p.m. both evenings. Admission is free.
The musical is directed by sixth-grade teacher Mary Kate Sternik through the Drama Club, which was created last school year by Sternik, who has an interest in the performing arts.
“When I interviewed for the position for the sixth-grade teacher, one of the questions I had for Sister Mary Ann (Spaetti, IHM, principal) was whether or not there was a drama club,” Sternik said. “I have always been active in theater, but I started in middle school and I think that is a really good time to introduce kids to it because it is a time when they can do different things and experience new things that they might not have done already. I was involved in theater in middle school, high school and college, and I have a concentration in my certification for theater.”
Sternik, who is completing her second year at Trinity Academy, said the Drama Club was formed last year, though no show was produced due to another commitment.
“We started last year, but since I was directing at Nativity, that show was taking precedence,” Sternik said. “We were meeting and practicing different things like monologues, but this year is the first year we’re doing a show.”
The musical revolves around Stephanie, a young girl who aspires to be a famous comic book artist, but for now is working as a janitor for the comic book company of D.C. Wunderman. During her time with Mrs. Wunderman, Stephanie and the staff of Wunderman Comics encounter powerful pens that make their creations come alive. The staff accidentally creates a villain, Dr. Shock Clock, who is slowly taking over the town and has plans to take over the world. It is up to Stephanie and her Fabulous Four to defeat Dr. Shock Clock, but will they be able to stop the villain and will Stephanie finally become a comic book artist will be answered amidst songs and dance numbers.
The story and song lyrics are by Pat Lydersen, who has a master’s degree in theatre from Penn State University and more than 20 years experience as an actress, director, teacher and playwright. Music is by Wendy Woolf. Sternik obtained the script and music from Pioneer Drama Service, which is a leading play publisher for schools and community and children’s theaters.
Sternik had been searching for a show to fit with students from grades 4 to 8.
“I have been flipping through the catalog since last school year that has shows for kids this age,” Sternik said. “The show is just over an hour long and it’s just enough to give them the experience of a show. I wanted something that would be fun and be somewhat relevant, and I thought that something with comic book heroes would be good just because of all the hype they’ve been receiving with The Avengers and Batman vs. Superman movies, and the Wonder Woman movie coming out next year.”
Sternik said the cast is made up of about 40 Drama Club members. The club has about 50 students.
“We have the Drama Club, but the show is featuring our Ciszek Players,” she said. “That’s what our actors and stage crew are called.”
For the students to be in the show, there was a formal audition where they sang a song of their choice and Sternik gave them a part of the script to read.
“Then I had another round of auditions for the callbacks where I gave them a song from the show they had to perform,” Sternik said. “It was very formal. It wasn’t like we pulled names from a hat. I was so pleased that they treated it like it was a serious audition.”
Rehearsals before this week were held in Sternik’s classroom, but this week they were moved to the hall in Frackville, which is providing a different experience for the students to actually be on stage.
“We have definitely two, maybe three, students who have been involved in community theater outside of the school,” Sternik said. “They’ve all come a long way.”