Northview — There’s an excitement brewing after school at Highlands Middle School, and it’s gotten plenty of students turning their eyes toward the stage.
In the four years since vocal music teacher Tara Cleveland relaunched the school’s theater program, they’ve seen a huge increase in the number of students wanting to be involved: from about 30 kids in “The Jungle Book” in 2022 to more than 100 signing up for last year’s show, “The Lion King.”
It got so big that, for this year’s production of “The Wizard of Oz,” Cleveland had to make the tough decision, “for safety and sanity and sustainability,” to limit participation to 60 students — “which is still chaotic, but definitely more manageable,” she said. Even then, the sign-up sheet filled up in less than three hours, with a 20-person wait list.
And she couldn’t be more excited for the chaos.
See ‘The Wizard of Oz’
Highlands Middle School will present “The Wizard of Oz” at the Max Colley Jr. Performing Arts Center, 4451 Hunsberger Avenue NE, at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 14, and at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15. Tickets are available online.
“(The pandemic) had kind of killed theater at Highlands, and I wanted to see Northview theater as a whole program from fifth (grade) all the way through twelfth, and be able to grow it a little bit,” said Cleveland on why she pushed to bring back annual stage productions to the lower middle-school level. “And we’ve been really, really lucky to have so much interest and see this amazing kind of community pop up around the program.”
In bringing theater to grades five and six, Cleveland said she’s hoping to not only inspire a lifelong appreciation of the arts, but also help kids figure out “where they fit” in middle school. And she thinks that’s one big reason why the program has become so popular.
“I think that students are figuring out who their friend group is, and they wanted a creative outlet — something that wasn’t necessarily athletics,” she said. “I used to be an athletics coach so I understand the appeal, but that’s not for everybody.”
School theater programs tend to attract certain creative, unique personalities, she said, “and we all find each other. Kids need to have a place to belong to, and so providing something like (theater) is crucial at this age.”
Another of Cleveland’s points of pride: The Highlands theater program is a self-funded, yet high quality extracurricular activity, she said. The district provides $750 for royalty rights to a show, and everything else is up to Cleveland. For the first show, “The Jungle Book,” they used all recycled materials for the costumes; since then, the program has been able to rely on ticket revenue from the past year to fund the next production and parent volunteers to help with costuming.
It was important to her, Cleveland said, to treat the students like professionals and give them the experience of putting together a “legitimate stage production.”
“They get to be onstage like the big kids, they get to wear the microphones like the big kids, they get lighting, musical cues, costumes, they get everything,” she said. “These kids are working really hard, and I can be hard on them, but I want them to be proud of the product that they put out, just like I am very proud. … It’s an elite form of art-making, and you can see they want to be part of it.”
‘Kids need to have a place to belong to, and so providing something like this is crucial at this age.’
— choir teacher Tara Cleveland
Students Weigh In
School News Network stopped by a recent “Wizard of Oz” rehearsal at Highlands and talked to some of the cast about why they wanted to be in the show and what they’ve learned from doing theater.
Whitney Drooger, sixth grade
“Wizard of Oz” role: Dorothy
Why did you want to participate in theater at Highlands? “We did ‘The Lion King’ last year and I was a lioness, and I really like my friends (in the show) and I have a really close bond with my teacher, Ms. Cleveland, who’s really good at directing and stuff. I love singing and I love dancing and all that stuff, and I think it’s just, like, a part of me now to do these shows.
“I feel like I have a very strong and powerful voice, and I like getting to act out the feelings. I get to act scared, sad, disappointed, happy and angry, and I like showing all my true colors.”
What have you learned from this production? “I definitely need to learn my lines faster, because I was not on top of it when I first got my book. I thought I was fine — no, I wasn’t. I needed it really badly.
“Also, that it’s OK to speak and sing and do stuff in front of people, because even if you mess up, people probably won’t even know and will just think it’s part of the show or improv or something. … I think I just learned that it’s OK to make mistakes.”
Quade Hossink, sixth grade
“Wizard of Oz” role: The coroner
Why did you want to participate in theater at Highlands? “I just thought it was really fun in the sense that since I am in Field School, I don’t really get to do stuff with other classes, and it’s just something that keeps me involved with the other classes. … And my brother did a lot of (theater) and I really enjoyed watching him do it, and my parents did as well.”
What have you learned from this production? “It’s kind of hard to do certain things, but you can get over it really fast and succeed. … My mom usually said I should lean into the funny side whenever I sing my song, and maybe enunciate more. Ms. Cleveland says I do a really good job on it, even though I thought I sounded the worst every time I sing it.”
Quade also said the show has boosted his confidence: “When I first started in it, when it got to my part I couldn’t keep up at all. Now, I can do it from memory.”
Marley Jones, sixth grade
“Wizard of Oz” role: Winkie leader and a Jitterbug
Why did you want to participate in theater at Highlands? “I really like how, in the end, it all comes together. It’s really cool and beautiful to see everything. I know in the beginning we have setbacks, with nobody really knowing their lines, but in the end it looks amazing. And that’s why I am very excited to, like, actually see the end of this show, because I’m in the ensemble and I can’t really see how it looks when you’re in the front. I think it’s going to be a pretty special experience for (the audience) to see.”
What have you learned from this production? “Ms. Cleveland can do amazing things getting it all ready, and as we go on I think she’s given everybody more courage. Like, everybody in the beginning was kind of embarrassed to say their lines because they weren’t used to doing that. Now, everybody feels comfortable doing all this stuff and it’s just really cool to see. The actors do amazing; the people behind the scenes do amazing. It’s good to see what we can come together and do.”
Read more from Kent ISD:
• Fall play immerses cast & crew in Michigan history
• New role, same Highlands: ‘I love this place’
