Authors: Clarine Tantowi ('23) and Melissa Budijono ('23)
Photographer: Joycelynn Saputra ('25)
Watching a drama production feels surreal, almost magical. The way the performers embody the characters, the background sets that bring the story to life, and the lighting that sets the mood of each scene captivate the audience watching the story unfolds. Each year, the drama team has brought to reality these mesmerizing plays; however, what really is the process that makes this once-in-a-year performance possible? How did Ms. LaMertha get started in directing drama productions and musicals? Ms. LaMertha first stepped into the world of directing theater when she was told to teach a theater class at the school she taught in Korea. Through this experience, she realized that she found a passion she never knew she had and grew to enjoy directing. She started doing various musicals and productions in Turkey, and after her first year at BAIS, she was able to start doing them here too.
Photo Courtesy of Ms. Hall | Aladdin Jr. 2018-2019
While BAIS has had drama productions before, what we now think of as the BAIS drama productions was built from the ground up by Ms. LaMertha with the help of Mr. Squiers, Mr. Amu, Mrs. Loewen, and many other teachers. First, after the roles of each cast member are chosen by the director, Ms. LaMertha, all events begin to fall into place.Ms. LaMertha said, “I want to pick something that my cast can perform well, and so that people could do those roles and have the skill and ability to do well.” She reiterates that the two most important and essential steps to making a successful production are that her performers must trust her to try the things she asks and the crew needs to be committed. She says that the process of making a drama production works best when you have performers who are really committed and are willing to put in the work and effort to contribute to a successful production. From a different point of view as a former actress, Emily Nielsen (‘20) agrees with the director as she says that “I learned that it’s more important to enjoy the process rather than worry about the outcome because the process of read throughs, dress rehearsals and dance rehearsals - those are the places where relationships and memories are formed and grown. Being like-minded in wanting to perform well brings you close together…”
Photo Courtesy of Ms. Hall | Pirates’ Dance Practice
Starting from the musical Mulan Jr. in 2015, BAIS productions have mainly been musicals, which means that music has a huge role in each production. Not only does music make the production more exciting, but it also shapes the plot and the characters in the play. However, with the uncertainties that COVID brought these last two years, it has especially been hard to be able to practice the songs and harmonies with the whole cast.
Mrs. Loewen, the musical director who has been working in the drama team for 6 years, commented, “ The last couple of years with COVID, it’s been so much harder to teach because we didn’t have that dedicated time where before we would take a couple of songs, and we would find a really hard song and start with that one and the song in the beginning of the play… but our practice time has been so short this year in a group to be able to really get all the different nuances.”
Despite these challenges with COVID, the show must go on, and Ms. LaMertha, Mrs. Loewen, and the rest of the crew were able to make these productions happen each year. “It’s been cool to watch you guys [the cast] grow in your abilities and to be able to do full songs with harmonies,” Mrs. Loewen said about the cast.
Photo Courtesy of Ms. Hall | Directors 2019-2020
Hidden from the spotlight, the backstage and tech crew are often unrecognized in the process of creating a play, even though they are the backbone of these performances.
Sherin Chong (‘23), the stage manager for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, said, “Being the stage manager is hard because when you’re practicing especially in the beginning and the middle of the drama season a lot of things change and you have to be easily adapted to it. Once it’s the final week that’s when you’re very very busy, but it's also the most fun part.”
Moreover, the tech crew makes the production envisioned by the director a reality. “When Ms. LaMertha wants something done, that process of that thing being done usually goes through Amu and my dad [Mr. Squiers],” said Kadin Squiers (‘23), a junior who is in charge of the lighting and mics in the tech crew.
Photo Courtesy of Ms. Hall | Backstage Crew 2019-2020
Mr. Amu Ramappa, the tech crew adviser, continued by describing the three aspects of the tech crew that play a huge role in the creation of a production. The three aspects include: audio, which involves knowing what is going on live and queuing up tracks; visual, which is important but plays a minor role in a school production; lighting, which paints the color and the picture.
Mr. Amu emphasizes that “the ability to keep your head straight when things fail” is a very vital attitude to have. Being resilient and logical at moments where a computer crashes or when the lights malfunction is very important in creating a successful production. Kadin described a computer malfunction in this year’s production, Peter Pan, where the computer that controls the lights suddenly crashed in the middle of the play. In these moments, they had to keep calm and restart the computer, while trying to get the lights back on for the next scene. Without the tech crew’s dedication and resiliency, drama productions wouldn’t be what it is like today.
Not only does music and light play a huge part in a drama production, the set also plays a vital part by showing where the story takes place. Ms. Christensen, the person in charge of the set design, said, “First I talk with Ms. LaMertha about what her vision is, and then she usually has some general pictures that she shows me. Then, I will start drawing on Procreate.”
Photo Courtesy of Meng Zhen Lo and Ms.Christensen | Ms. Christensen showing the model of Peter Pan’s set design
Ms. Christensen continued explaining how she incorporated the use of 3D models before building the actual set designs. Through this process, Ms. Christensen and some student volunteers were able to make the majority of the set designs and costumes, including Aladdin's Cave of Wonder, Cinderella’s transformation dress, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’s car, and the Darling siblings’ multifunctional bed. “Without drama, I wouldn’t be able to build stuff…I feel like I have definitely grown my repertoire and my resume,” she concluded.
Last but not least, the main stars of the show: the actors! While the directors, the backstage crew, and the tech team are essential to a drama production, a drama production would certainly not be able to happen without the actors as they are the main characters.
Every year is different: there might be appointed roles the directing team offers to people who are interested, or there might be auditions where people can audition for whichever character they would like to play. For musicals, it is important that the performers are able to sing as well as dance, and the performers are usually split into 3 parts: tenor, alto, and soprano. Mrs. Loewen explains that the girls are separated into alto and soprano, while the boys into one group. It is important that some strong singers, who can pick up the harmony fast, are divided in these groups.
Drama is a great opportunity where people can hangout together, build good relationships, and have fun with each other. Ms. LaMertha noted that the best memories of teaching are in drama, and Ollie Gunthorpe (‘21), an alumnus from BAIS, adds that “it accidentally was one of my favorite things I ever did in high school.” While some people joined drama for fun and to make memories, others like Kezia Chandra (‘26), a 8th grader who has joined drama since she was in elementary, joined because being in drama allowed her to improve on her acting, dancing, and singing skills. Rachel Nielsen (‘22), a senior, adds that the “bonds you form with people through drama are really special” and allows you to interact with other people from different classes or friend groups.
Photo Courtesy of Ms. Hall | Cinderella 2019-2020
Being a part of drama is not only about giving out these spectacular performances each year, but more importantly, it is where students get to make so many new memories that they can only get by joining the crew. So, like what Ms. LaMertha has been saying, “don’t wait until your senior year to join drama!”