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02/17/2015 11:00 PMWhen Fiddler on the Roof takes the stage at Guilford High School (GHS), it will tell its musical story of tradition and mark the end of an era, says Director Cara Mulqueen-Teasdale.
As GHS Theatre Arts coordinator, Cara chose this show to highlight the theme of tradition because this is the final academic year that plays, musicals, and other performances will take place in the current GHS auditorium. Beginning next fall, performances will move into the state-of-the-art auditorium in the new GHS building, now under construction.
"It's going to be an emotional run," says Cara, who's once again working with Musical Director and GHS music teacher Kevin Buno.
Fiddler on the Roof will be performed at GHS during five shows running Feb. 19 to 22.
"Kevin and I meet every July and we pick a show, and this year, the whole season I chose was based on tradition-with Our Town as the fall play, and Fiddler as the spring musical. Just recently, we were just talking with the kids about what traditions do we take with us, and what traditions morph? And when do we have to listen to the kids and question the traditions we carry forward, and when do we dig our heels in? What do we gain by keeping traditions and what do we lose or close ourselves off to?"
Guilford has certainly gained in hiring Cara as a member of the GHS faculty. Beyond her experience and expertise, Cara is a GHS alumna (Class of '86) who well understands the tradition and culture of arts programming at this school.
"I'm a product of this program," she says. "I think it's like any move into someplace new-it's bittersweet, because you're leaving behind a place that was your home, especially when you think about the things that have happened in this space, the really incredible theater artists and performers and musicians who have come through Guilford High School."
Cara taught high school theater arts in Amity and Hamden before arriving here to join the GHS English Department as a teacher eight years ago. This is Cara's fourth year as GHS Theatre Arts coordinator.
"I'm so honored to be the director of this program because I just cherish it and it's given so many kids an opportunity to just apply things they learn at school," she notes. "One of my goals has been to get more education into the program, and I have these incredible colleagues that are incredible educators helping me."
Each student crew is supervised by a certified GHS teacher. In addition to Cara and Buno, Fiddler students are working with technical education teacher Nick Ripa (leading the technical production team), music teachers Thomas Boates and Mark Gahm (pit orchestra), English teacher Allison Camarco (putting her stage management degree to work), and art teacher Megan Cassidy (supervising scenic painting).
"And one of my former students from when I taught at Amity is the sound supervisor. He graduated from Yale," says Cara, who credits much of her own interest in theater arts education to former GHS Theatre Arts Director Pat Souney, who led the program when Cara was a GHS student.
"I learned so much, because Pat Souney was in charge of the program while I was here, and Pat was a phenomenal educator," says Cara. "She has such an eye for detail and she cherished all the technical components. So when I got to college, I was surprised at how much I already knew from having hands-on experience here in Guilford."
Cara says that experience not only extended into opportunities for students to learn in many areas, but also allowed students to bring what they'd learned in school to the table, just as it does today.
"For me, it's really exciting to see kids you've worked with succeeding in all different areas. It makes you an incredible team worker. You have to be a close reader. Our guys and girls doing all the tech stuff-the science knowledge and physics knowledge they learn in the world of GHS is applied here. It's called a play, and they're playing and they think they're having fun-but what they're really doing is applying all the skills they have. They come to the table so well-schooled in academic skills."
Beyond that is the amazing culture of the GHS Theatre Arts student community.
"When you walk in to a rehearsal, you just have this incredible myriad of kids from the school population, and they end up here," she says. "They get along so beautifully and love and respect each other, and it happens organically by participating in this program."
She also credits the GHS school population, and many supporters in the town of Guilford, with being GHS Theatre Arts appreciators.
"Guilford has always traditionally been a place where artists and culture thrive, and I see it in every level of the class that I teach -freshmen through seniors," says Cara. "When you look in the audience, it's so cool-you'll see kids you'll see across hall at a basketball game come across hall to see a musical. It's just so incredible that it's really ingrained in the Guilford kid, I think, and it makes them such fun to be around."
Cara says she often will hear community members talking about the GHS spring musical when she's out and about. She's grateful for the program's fan base.
"I'm always amazed-I'll be sitting at Cilantro's, and someone will be talking about the show, or when I'm at the dentist, or I'll have elementary school teachers telling me they'll be coming to the show to see their students all grown up. So I think the Guilford spring musical, as a tradition, is really powerful. People come and they come back."
As a Guilford resident herself, Cara feels there's no better town to call home.
"My husband and I moved back to Guilford when we had our daughter," she says. "We realized, 'Gosh, we learned so much here-there's so much richness.' Certainly raising a family here and growing up here, I feel so fortunate to be in this town."
Tickets to the GHS spring musical are generally snapped up quickly, and with this being the final production in the old auditorium, Cara encourages supporters to visit the production's website (www.ghsta.weebly.com) as soon as possible to pick their seats and purchase advance tickets.
"We're trying to get as many people in as possible to say goodbye," says Cara.
Once Fiddler closes, the students will help pack up many of the physical pieces of the GHS Theatre Arts program, readying everything for the move to the new auditorium space. They'll also take with them memories of a lifetime, says Cara.
"In Fiddler, when Tevye and his family leave and everybody sort of disperses, they carry pieces of where they've been with them," says Cara. "And I said to Kevin, 'I want the kids to carry something from this building, wherever they go next.' But I'm also carrying all of this wonderful experience with me. So it has been a really poignant year-it's been a really poignant experience."
GHS Theatre Arts presents Fiddler on the Roof with 7 p.m. evening performances on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, Feb. 19, 20, and 21 and 2 p.m. matinee performances on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 21 and 22. Tickets, $15, are available at www.ghsta.weebly.com and at the door in the GHS auditorium, 605 New England Road.