Germantown Academy’s Drama Program, Belfry, is thrilled to announce that this year’s anticipated fall production is titled BRAINSTORM, originally by Ned Glasier, Emily Lim, and Company Three.
This drama investigates the complexity of the teenage mind, allowing GA’s student performers to act as playwrights for an entirely new show for this upcoming November, drawing upon their talents and personal experiences.
“It will be creating something out of absolutely nothing,” said the play’s assistant director, Ms. Emma Hearn. She continued to emphasize that constructing a piece of theater in a high school setting is unquestionably rare, so she is excited to have the opportunity to explore the teenage brain with teenagers themselves.
Senior performer Madison Quinter ’24 shared her thoughts on the new approach. “It’s really cool to have a script made by all of us as the cast,” Quinter said. “It gives such a sense of pride, and it’s our show in a way that’s totally different from what we’re used to.”
However, what increases this production’s significance is that it marks the last fall show of the drama teacher and director of GA’s Belfry, Ms. K. Richardson, as she announced her retirement in September. Richardson directed many of the school’s productions and played an essential role in shaping the Belfry program into what it is today.
Liam Richardson-Harris ’24, child of the retiring director and also a senior performer, shared thoughts on this particular fall production. “It’s bittersweet,” Richardson-Harris said. “But there’s something equally bittersweet about the play being my last, especially knowing that it’s also my mom’s farewell from the group.”
Aligning with these reflections, BRAINSTORM aims to discover the “why” and the “how” behind the adolescent brain’s evolution. Ms. Hearn added her wishes for the project: “I think there will be real honesty and vulnerability from the students,” she said. “I’m hoping that they feel empowered in that exploration.”
Additionally, she likened the play’s concept to that of ‘mirrors and windows.’ This means the audience will feel a sense of self-reflection through the story. Furthermore, the performance will bring a fresh perspective to an adolescent’s life, differentiating itself from the stories written by adults.
“Material that is written by someone older or someone that’s not in high school, there’s sometimes a disconnect there,” Ms. Hearn said. “So having this material be generated from the students, I think, will really resonate with the rest of the student body in a way.”
However, in forming this play, unlike most school productions where the material is prewritten, the Belfry team will have the same timeframe to develop the material from scratch and practice it. The strategy to overcome this involves breaking down their production timeline into phases and dedicating the initial few weeks to creating the content.
Nonetheless, despite the challenge posed by the tight production schedule, GA’s Drama Program is known for bringing an atmosphere of creativity and spirit to the GA community. Even during the audition process, regardless of the play’s unconventional approach, the students were excited to jump into it on the first day.
“It’s a whirlwind.” Quinter described. “It’s one of my favorite things to do, and I love all the people there.” Richardson-Harris describes the Belfry community similarly: “I love Belfry.” Richardson-Harris said. “They’re all my friends, and we just have a good time together.”
Finally, to restate Ms. Hearn’s sentiments: “It’s just an awesome community of people. They are so creative and very kind. They’re very open, and I love that.”
To see these students’ skills in action, mark your calendars for the BRAINSTORM performance on GA-PC Day weekend, scheduled for Nov. 10 and Nov. 11 at 7:00 PM. To stay updated, watch out for emails and announcements leading up to the event and come out to be highly entertained and amused by the unveiling of what these creative students have prepared.