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03/01/2017 07:30 AMJacqlyn Giordano is no stranger to the drama scene in North Haven. As a lifelong town resident, she went through the North Haven schools, performing in every musical should could since she was in 4th grade.
Now Jacqlyn has been involved in the production side of school plays for the past four years, ever since she became a teacher at North Haven Middle School (NHMS). She began by offering her help to Jackie Monk with the NHMS plays.
“The more hands, the better, and I started helping more with the backstage aspect of the musical, which was something I hadn’t done much with,” says Jacqlyn, who studied English and history at Southern Connecticut State University before getting her master’s from University of New Haven. “It gave me great experience and understanding of what went on behind the scenes. Coming back to North Haven gave me a sense of coming home and I felt like I fit right back in to where I used to be.”
Jacqlyn helped at NHMS for two years before moving up to help at the high school, working on the fall dramas over the past two years, The Importance of Being Earnest in 2015 and The Miracle Worker in 2016. She was also the assistant director of The Addams Family Musical for the spring 2016 production.
After former director Kathy Monigan had a baby, she announced that she would not be returning to direct the musical this season. Jacqlyn applied for the job and was excited, but a bit intimidated, when she was hired.
“It’s a great feeling when you take the reins and when you’re able to pull more out of the students, a magical thing happens,” says Jacqlyn. “As director, you realize how many aspects go into a play. When you attend a play, you watch the acting and listen to the music, but you don’t think about who’s up at 2 a.m. making props or students who put in time to build these beautiful sets. Directing gives you a better appreciation of the process itself.”
While Jacqlyn knew some of the students through working on the fall dramas and being the assistant director last year, she has enjoyed building stronger relationships this year as the director. There are about 50 students in the cast and another 20 involved behind the scenes.
Jacqlyn’s style of directing was greatly inspired by her favorite experience she had in high school. When she was a part of West Side Story her junior year, she remembers the director allowing the students a great deal of creative freedom.
“We had a director, but we had student choreographers, students in the band, and it was entirely run by students,” says Jacqlyn. “It was a really a rewarding experience in the end because we had ownership.”
As a director, Jacqlyn hopes to give students a similar experience. She has students in several key roles, including Julia Cagnetta, who is in charge of all the makeup; many students performing in the orchestra; and a student-run stage crew that has built all of the sets.
“Giving the students the autonomy not only gives them ownership, but allows them to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes,” says Jacqlyn. “It helps them grow as an actor or stage musician and as a human being. You appreciate the students on a different level because you get to see them in a different light.”
In addition, she has many people who have helped make the production run smoothly, including Debbie Zolain, a volunteer assistant director; Ken Tedeschi, who directs the orchestra; Anne Tubis, a mother who organizes the volunteers; and Chris Johnson, a teacher who is the technical director. One of the actors’ grandmother also volunteered to design costumes. Jacqlyn is also thankful to her husband Anthony, who is a teacher at the high school.
“We have a lot of people I am extremely grateful for,” says Jacqlyn, who has a son named Angelo. “I don’t know what I would do without my husband’s support. He’s been amazing through this process.”
Jacqlyn has had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with the students as auditions were held just before Thanksgiving with rehearsals starting right after. Ever since, the cast has spent many hours rehearsing preparing.
She is excited for the audience to see the students’ hard work pay off with for this weekend’s performance with nightly performances from Thursday, March 2 to Saturday, March 4. Jacqlyn thinks the audience will not only enjoy the students’ talent, but also the message of the show.
“It’s an all-around fun show. The music is hopping and rocking, there are one-liners that make you laugh so hard you jump out of your seat, and it has a strong message behind it,” says Jacqlyn. “It’s a show about breaking down stereotypes and believing in yourself when no one else does.
“All the work is worth it in the end because you’re on stage with people who are your family by that point,” adds Jacqlyn. “After all of that time, you’ve bonded with everyone and battled together to get to the end point. The students surprise me every day with how talented they are.”
Performances of Legally Blonde will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 2 and at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 3 and Saturday, March 4 at NHHS’s Patricia K. Brozek Theater. Tickets ($15) are available at the high school from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and at the door 30 minutes before showtime.