Salem High Drama Club Set To Hit The Big Screen

SALEM, MA – The Salem High School drama club is preparing to light up the night once again Friday in a production unlike any other to cap an unprecedented year.

While coronavirus restrictions and disruptions made things tough on all school groups this year, perhaps no other groups faced challenges like the creative arts. Students who thrive on interaction with each other and audience engagement were relegated to communicating through a computer screen and recording their performances in the isolation of their own homes.

But about two dozen members of the Salem High drama club were undeterred as they made sure the annual show went on in "Stage 2 Screen: A Musical Revue" in which 17 singers recorded 19 songs that required more than 100 hours of audio and video editing over months to produce the final product.

That product will now get its well-deserved due in the Salem High parking lot Friday night when "Stage 2 Screen" is shown on a 26-foot-high screen as part of a drive-in movie experience for students, staff and the performers themselves.

"They are definitely excited," Producer Lianne Goodwin told Patch. "I don't think anyone outside of the student officers thought about the possibility this could work out. But now they have this event they can go to on a Friday night, and be socially distanced and not break any rules.

"So many of their social events have gotten canceled over the past year that it's been really difficult on them. But here is a way they can be all in the same place — even if they are different cars — and it's exciting."

The show, which will also be available via a watch party on Zoom on Saturday night, will begin at 8 p.m. Friday with a suggested donation of $20 per car. Reservations can be made on a first-come, first-served basis through emailing salemhighdrama@gmail.com. Those without a reservation will be allowed in as capacity limits permit.

Goodwin said the idea of the drive-in came from the drama club officers as the club planned out what they knew had to be a prerecorded show this year. The plan was always to have a watch party for the fully edited show, but when the possibility of the more public showing was posed, Goodwin said she began working with Salem's Creative Collective and school administration to see if they could really make it happen.

That process started about two months ago with the date finally confirmed right before April vacation.

"Nobody outside of the director (Thom Hardy) and myself will have seen the whole thing so it will be the big reveal," Goodwin said. "Some of the kids said they were excited to see themselves perform for really the first time. When you are involved in the production, you don't really get a chance to see the entire thing as part of an audience."

Because of virus restrictions, Goodwin said each singer recorded their parts on their own, which then had to be edited together as part of a laborious process. She said in some cases the performers were able to come together to act out the scenes in a socially distanced way, but rules against unmasked singing indoor meant the audio had to then be edited into the scene through the extensive work of Ryan Malyar, the executive director of WCTV in Wilmington.

"Having seen some of the preview stuff, it's great," Goodwin said. "There are a lot of different components to it that recreate a cool musical experience."

Goodwin said she was determined early that if the drama club was going to do a virtual production this year it had to be something that was "top-notch, high-quality and looked great."

She said 17 students are cast in the cabaret with another six students working as a crew. Club numbers dropped this year because of the challenges involved with the virtual performance, but Goodwin said she is proud of those who stuck with it.

The cabaret nature made it so more students could be involved with more visibility rather than a traditional performance with a small lead cast and mostly supporting roles.

"I think after we see the finished product together the kids will know they were part of something special," she said. "Even though this isn't what we do every other year, we were able to take what we had and make it a special event that reflects all their talent and dedication to the drama club."

(Those attending the drive-in or viewing the watch party can use Venmo to make payments and donations to Performing Arts events at Salem High School @Salemmusicboosters. To pay by check, send the check to Salem High School, 77Willson Street, c/o Lianne Goodwin. The contributions are suggested donations. No one will be turned away from viewing the performance.)

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)