This year, the Northwood High School Drama department is taking on a musical classic with a production of “Mary Poppins.” While many of our community members will be quite familiar with the scenes and music made famous by Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, for some of our Rangers, participating in this production is their first experience with the musical. River Emmert, a junior who is playing the role of George Banks, stated, “I’ve never watched it, but I knew of the songs because of Disney.” Cayden Schober, a junior who is playing the role of Bert, said, “If I’m being honest, I only knew about ‘A Spoonful of Sugar.’” However, some of our Rangers did have a bit more background of the musical. Senior Philip Brice, the student director for this year’s show said, “It’s my grandmother’s favorite musical, so I know it well. Plus, I’m a huge fan of Dick Van Dyke, so I know it well because of him.” Senior Alex Hoffer, who will be playing the role of Mary Poppins explained, “My father was in the Oregon Community Theater production of ‘Mary Poppins.’ I knew the show pretty well after watching him perform as Mr. Banks.”
Over the years, Northwood High School has become well-known for the musicals produced under the direction of choir and drama teacher Annette Slater. When asked what will make this year’s production stand out from the rest Alex stated, “Mrs. Slater has a lot of ideas for this show.” Many of these ideas, are surprises that won’t be revealed until the opening curtain! River added, “My cast members, Alex and Kennedy are great at their roles and strong leads, Cayden is incredible with what he does, Carson Dickey (a third grade NES student) and Brielle Closson (a sixth grade NES student) are just outstanding for how young they are, and I join the mix and bring what I have to the table and it all comes together amazing.” Sophomore Mitchell Hurley who is this year’s crew chief said, “This year’s production is larger than life. The set looks beautiful, we have a good crew who’s very efficient, and the cast members are sure to put a smile on anyone’s face. The main thing that stands out to me is just the positive energy that everyone in the entire production has.”
When asked what they are most excited for this year, Senior Sarah Frey who is a chorus member and new to the stage this year, stated, “The show itself, and the makeup, and just bonding with the other people.” Our Jane, better known as Brielle said, “I have always wanted to sing and dance in a musical, so actually being on stage is so much fun!” Carson agreed, stating, “I just can’t wait to perform in front of everyone!” Senior Rylee Hazlett, who is new to the stage this year and will be portraying the role of the Bird Woman, expressed, “I’m just excited to see how the whole show will turn out. So far, I am loving the musical and I’m excited to see all of the scenes fit together.” Senior Kylie Grant who will be playing the role of Mrs. Brill added, “I am most excited to see the ‘Step in Time’ dance because it is very difficult, but the dancers are doing a great job at performing the dance onstage.” From a crew perspective, sophomore Usa Vayavong, who has been integral to our painting crew, stated, “I am mostly excited to see everything come together, especially since we have so many sets this year and little fun surprises!”
Each year, the NHS musical production encompasses the largest variety of students of any of the student groups at NLS. Time and time again, students express that the best part of being involved with the musical is the bonding experience and becoming one big family. Alex stated, “I really enjoyed picking up the younger kids for practice. They were excited and were fun to chat with.” She continued, “The best part of musical is the relationships that are made. I, for one, can say it was a lot of fun getting to know Brielle and Carson these last few months. They are such a wonderful addition to this year’s musical. They are so bright and fun and have worked so hard. I can’t wait to see how they do when they are in high school.” Kylie added, “The best part about being involved with musical is getting to make new friends from different social groups that I may not have talked to otherwise. All of these different people come together to make an amazing production.” Rylee added, “Being with all of my friends and trying something new. Originally, I tried out for a smaller speaking role and then when I got a call back for a singing role as Bird Woman I pretty much had to be dragged to the audition because I never thought I would sing alone in front of so many people. I’m just glad everyone pushed me so far out of my comfort zone because at first I was nervous and I regretted it because I was so scared, but now I’m a lot more comfortable on stage and I’m glad I accepted a singing part.” Kennedy Brossia, our Winifred Banks, added, “The absolute best part about being involved with musical is the people you meet and the friendships that you make. I’ve gotten extremely close with people who I’ve never had a good friendship with. This time of the year brings so many different types of people together that you would never guess would come together. It’s an amazing thing that you don’t see very often. I’m so happy to be a part of this family.”
When asked for concluding thoughts, River expressed, “I couldn’t be more thankful for everyone participating in musical and showing up. I really want this musical to make Mrs. Slater proud and I know we’ll give her our all because that’s what she deserves and this musical will be great.” Cayden added, “If you’re thinking about joining the musical, but aren’t so sure, stop thinking about it and just do it. Unless you’re the busiest human in the entire world or if acting, singing, or dancing isn’t your thing (which is fine), join the musical. You won’t regret it.” Mitchell stated, “The people behind the scenes are just as much of stars of the show as the cast are. Philip Brice is an extremely inspiring and dedicated Student Director. Usa Vayavong is so talented and did a magnificent job alongside Mrs. T and Mrs. James with running the paint crew. Cameron Brice and Logan Urbanyi have been immensely helpful assistant crew chiefs to me and I wouldn’t trade them for anything. And most importantly, Mrs. Slater has outdone herself this year. Her hard work and dedication to this production is unmatched to anyone I’ve ever met. The amount of time and care she puts into musical is the main reason we put on such an amazing show!”
When reflecting on it being the last show for our seniors, Philip stated, “It is going to be difficult to say goodbye to musical. The growth and friends I’ve earned is the best thing I could’ve asked from my high school career.” Alex concluded, “I want to say that if you’re in high school you should at least try musical once. Every person that I know that has done musical their senior year regrets not participating the first three years of high school. You experience something different. You make a second family and bond. It’s something magical.”
NORTHWOOD/WCESC PRESCHOOL PRE-REGISTRATION
The Northwood/Wood County Preschool, operated in collaboration with the Wood County Educational Service Center, is pre-registering for the 2019-20 school year.
The preschool programs are developmentally appropriate, play-based preschools supporting the Ohio Department of Education’s model curriculum. The Wood County Preschool Program is an inclusionary preschool program serving children ages 3–5 who have delays in development and children who are typically developing. Tuition, based on a sliding-fee scale, is charged for children without special needs. Children attend preschool two full days per week (either Tues/Thurs or Wed/Fri).
Please contact Naomi at nstickles@wcesc.org or 419-354-9010, ext. 133 to get on the 2019-20 mailing list. Parents who have questions regarding children who may have special needs can also contact Naomi.
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION:
NES CARNIVAL INFORMATION:
PROJECT RUNWAY PROM:
- Fri. March 15th: End of 3rd Quarter / NHS Drama Department presents “Mary Poppins” (opening night) at 7:30pm
- Sat. March 16th: NHS Drama Department presents “Mary Poppins” at 7:30pm
- Sun. March 17th: NHS Drama Department presents “Mary Poppins” (final show) at 2:30pm
- Mon. March 18th: NEO Meeting, 8am
- Tues. March 19th: HS Winter Sports Banquet, 6pm
- Wed. March 20th: 5th-12th grade Band-O-Rama Concert, 7pm
- Tues. March 26th: 7th-12th grade Choir Concert, 7pm
- Fri. March 29th: NES Carnival, 6pm
- Mon. – Fri. April 1st – 5th: NES Testing Week
- Tues. April 2nd: NEO Marcos Pizza Night
- Mon. – Fri. April 8th – 12th: NES and NHS Testing Week
- Fri. – Mon. April 19th – 22nd: Spring Break
- Tues. April 23rd: Teacher In-Service Day – No School for Students
- Tues. – Sat. April 23rd – 27th: Junior and Senior NYC Trip
Ranger Roundup 