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02/23/2022 07:30 AMEven though Dawn Emerman has been involved with the East Haven High School (EHHS) Drama Club’s musicals since 2016, she had decided to take a break this year as her position within the district recently changed. Dawn was hired as a music teacher with Melillo Middle School in 2014, but when that position was eliminated, Dawn was transferred to split her time between Tuttle and Ferrara elementary schools.
“I wanted to focus on learning my new grade levels for teaching, but the teacher who was going to do [the musical] got injured,” says Dawn. “I got a phone call saying, ‘We really need you’ and we don’t want the kids to suffer. The kids are great and they really need it because we haven’t had anything for the last two years. They are excited to be back on stage with the music and other kids.”
Getting involved with the Drama Club in 2016, Dawn was a part of four shows before COVID shut down the program in 2020 and 2021. In past years, she worked with the creative team led by director Kari Collins in picking the show, but thinking she wasn’t working on the show this year, she was not part of that process.
Dawn was excited to learn that the team had chose The Little Mermaid as she has enjoyed the movie since she was young. She now shares the love for that story with her two children—11-year-old Annabelle and seven-year-old Anderson—and is looking forward to seeing it performed live Thursday to Saturday, April 14, 15, and 16.
“I was so excited that they chose this because I have loved the movie since it first came out and now my kids love it,” says Dawn, who has lived for 12 ½ years in Guilford, where she is involved with the PTAs at her kids’ schools. “Now I’ll be able to appreciate it in a whole new light.”
As the music director for the EHHS Drama Club, Dawn works with the students of the cast of nearly 30 on both an individual- and small-group basis, helping them learn their parts, how to read music, and more. The two-year COVID hiatus has presented some challenges as there are now students who don’t have the experience students have had in the past.
“There are some kids who, because we were shut down for two years, have never been in a musical, so we’re starting with, ‘This is a measure, this is where your line is,’ and the basics,” says Dawn. “Then there are individuals I’ve worked with before and this is their big moment so it’s about learning to project your voice in the right way and knowing the story so you know how to perform your part.”
Having worked at Melillo teaching choir and general music, Dawn likes seeing the students she worked with in middle school continue to grow their passion for music, especially because it reminds her of her high school experience. Dawn “grew up in the music program,” participating in band, choir, and the musicals at Trumbull High School.
“I love seeing some of my kids now at the high school level and knowing where they came from in 6th grade and how their confidence has grown so much,” says Dawn. “I love that they remember everything you taught them, get to see their growth, and the fact they enjoy working with you.”
While she says being involved in the music program in high school built her love for the arts and “kept me going to school,” when she went to college at Western Connecticut State University, she originally thought about going into nursing.
In addition to her science classes, Dawn also took some music classes. During her first year, Dawn realized that music was truly her passion and after her freshman year, she changed her major to vocal performance.
“I chose Western because it had a strong music program and I wanted to stay involved while pursuing nursing,” says Dawn. “After the first year, I realized I liked science, but it wasn’t my lifelong calling and I missed music too much.”
Dawn immediately went on to get her master’s degree in education. She taught at a pre-K through grade 8 charter school for several years, but always kept her eye out for a more focused position.
“I was teaching 10 different grade levels general music, singing, and band and it was a lot,” says Dawn. “I originally wanted to be at the middle school level so I could teach choir, so when the position in East Haven opened up, I jumped at it.”
Dawn was so excited about the position that she attended the interview just one week after her son was born. In addition to loving the classes she has been able to teach over the years, Dawn has also found a strong support system within East Haven Public Schools.
“I love being in buildings with staff that really supports each other,” says Dawn. “I had amazing teaching partners at the middle school and now at the elementary schools.”
When Dawn first began working at Melillo, there was an audition-only glee club. Knowing what an impact programs like that can have on students, Dawn and another teacher worked to expand the program to hold a musical at the middle school under the guidance of Collins.
Collins then took a job at the high school and with the help of the East Haven Arts Commission, EHHS reinvigorated the Drama Club. Dawn has loved being part of the productions and even though she hadn’t planned to be the music director this year, she is excited to be back.
“Initially I felt a little overwhelmed, but I’m used to elementary at this point, I love the classes I teach, and working with the little kids is cute and it’s exciting to get them back to being able to actually use instruments and enjoying music,” says Dawn. “I love working with all kids, but especially the kids who remind me of me when I was young, when you can see it’s their passion and see them learning and growing as a musician. That’s what we’re there for.”
That reward is what is making all of the volunteer after-school hours worth it for Dawn. She sees the enjoyment the students get from participating in the musical firsthand and she knows how much they missed having the opportunity over the past two years. She is hoping that the community will support the program by attending the shows this spring.
“This is what the students need—they need performance back in their lives,” says Dawn. “There’s been a lot of talk about mental health and students don’t need more time in regular classes. They need the performance, sports, and other outlets that they haven’t had for two years. It’s what they need for their mental health and we’d love to see it grow again.
“The community support is extremely important to our program, adds Dawn. “Without the community coming to support these students to show them that what they do matters, we wouldn’t have these programs.”