The Theatre Arts Department of Shaker Heights High School presents the twenty-fifth festival of new plays, written, directed, produced, and performed by students: New Stages 25: Shaker New Plays and Directors Series, March 21st and 22nd at 8 PM and March 23 and 24 at 7 & 9:15 PM, in Stage 3, Shaker High’s black box theatre, Stage 3. Five one-act plays will be presented as part of a full season of theatrical events, which began with Into the Woods in December and concludes with the Spring Ensemble Show in May.

The plays are: A Night’s Work, by junior Alex Grossman-McKee, directed by senior Nick Stagno; Behind Closed Doors, by senior Shirley Bell, directed by senior Marnie Zoldessy; Childsplay, by junior Susanna Pretzer, directed by senior Annie Sivertson; Scratch, by senior Anastasia Frank, directed by senior Audrey Gyurgyik; and Spring Cleaning, by junior Katherine Foster, directed by senior Eileen Lalley.

New Stages, now in its twenty-fifth continuous year, was begun by retired Shaker Theatre Arts Department founder James Thornton in 1981. Having developed it out of a playwriting class, Thornton considers New Stages to be "the most significant thing we do as a theatre program. The fall show is flashier and on a larger scale. The Spring Ensemble Show provides our most polished and sophisticated performances."

Department Chair Christine McBurney adds that "New Stages provides an excitement and a guided learning experience for students that is unparalleled. Students work closely together, learning how to problem solve, collaborate effectively, and think creatively." Thornton also says, "across the line, if you ask Shaker Theatre alumni what their most memorable moments were, they will most likely recall those moments shared in New Stages. To my knowledge, no other high school in the country has a new play series of this design."

This year’s New Stages provides working and learning opportunities for over 75 students. Over 25 years, the series has involved more than a thousand students in the creation of new works for the theatre. Among Shaker Theatre alums are:

• Carter Bays ’93, five-time Emmy-nominated writer for Late Night with David Letterman. Bays is also a writer and producer for American Dad and How I Met Your Mother
• Jamie Babbit, ’89, writer/director of the film, But I’m a Cheerleader, The Quiet, and the upcoming Itty Bitty…Committee which will be shown this March at the Cleveland International Film Festival
• David Wain, ’87, writer/director of the film, Wet Hot American Summer and The Ten, which will be shown this March at the Cleveland International Film Festival
• Michelle Federer, ’91, New York stage actress, the original Nessarose in Broadway’s Wicked and who recently appeared Off Broadway in Anon, and appears in the upcoming film Flannel Pajamas
• Michael McElroy, ’84, New York Tony nominated stage actor, Big River, Rent, Miss Saigon, Angels in America, currently appearing in the new Terrance McNally play, Some Men
• Gabrielle Perrin, ’87, former casting director for all West Coast operations for the television channel, Nickelodeon
• Betsy Hogg, ’06, recently appeared Off Broadway in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie with Cynthia Nixon and on Broadway in The Crucible with Liam Neeson and Laura Linney and Fiddler on the Roof with Harvey Fierstein
• Sara Knowlton, ’87, television, film and New York stage actress
• The late Louis Schechter, ’83, Los Angeles film producer and director

Every new Broadway season for the past sixteen years has included one or more Shaker Theatre alum in major New York productions. In addition, Shaker Theatre alums hold positions in every area of professional theatre and the entertainment industry.

Stage 3—Shaker Heights High School’s intimate black box theatre—was the vision of student Amy Silberman, ’81. She drew a design for a black box theatre and identified the space in the basement of the school, as her Senior Project, and was the catalyst for turning it into a performing space. Stage 3, dedicated in her memory, is the perfect venue for New Stages, seating only 86 people and usually selling out every performance.

The award-winning Theatre Arts Department at Shaker High offers 10 daily theatre classes, produces 4 major productions and 6 showcases, and involves nearly 300 students each year. The program hosts numerous on-going guest artists, including, for the past two years, residencies with Matt Thornton, ’92, of the Pilobolus Dance Theatre; Geoff Bullen, Assistant Director at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA); Domenick Danza, Education Director at the Cleveland Play House; and regional theatre actress Diedriu Ring. Faculty include: Theatre Arts Department Chair Christine McBurney, who teaches Playwriting, Acting, Jr. Ensemble, and Film as Art; Erik Johnson, who teaches Junior, Advanced and Senior Ensembles, Theatre I, and Theatre Production Seminar; David Schiopota, who teaches Theatre III—Improv & Shakescenes—and Stagecraft; Chuck Tisdale, Auditorium Manager and Technical Director; and Joel Rathbone, Stage Manager.

Tickets for New Stages 25 are $10 adults, $5 for students & seniors.
24-Hour Box Office: 216-295-4287.