For 13 years students of HHS have joined and participated in the Theater program.For many it was and still is a place where they can have fun, work hard together, and put on a spectacular production twice a year for everyone to see. Many students make new friends, find their true passion, and most come to think of our school auditorium as a second home.

Our director, Mrs. Hackett, created this welcoming environment for the past thirteen years, but she let us know at our final cast/crew/pit party last year that “Guys and Dolls” was her final production here.

For those students who may not be familiar with Mrs. Hackett, she has taught English I and II cp, Performance English I and II, and worked tirelessly directing the theatre program for 13 years, raising it to the behemoth that it is today!

One of the Clarion reporters went to interview her about why she began the program and her experiences with it throughout the years.

Clarion Reporter: When did it occur to you to begin the Theater program and why?

Mrs. Hackett: It actually didn’t occur to me; it occurred to a group of parents who were former HHS graduates from the golden era of the 1970s, when theater was a big part of the high school experience. They held a fundraiser dinner at Macaluso’s and with the money donated that evening, the group developed a memorial fund to revitalize the theatre program at HHS in the names of Ricky and Brooke Stohler. They were a father and daughter whose lives revolved around theater (while both were students and beyond high school) and whose lives ended tragically way too early.

This memorial fund money was given to the board of education in order to facilitate a revival of the theater program my first year here. It was my first year here when they asked me to do it, knowing I had a background in theater. When you do something like this in your first year of teaching, it can be really overwhelming because you have a lot of preparation to do, but I knew if I didn’t take it on then, someone else might take it on or not take it on and I’d lose the opportunity.

Clarion Reporter: What was the first show you directed in the program and why did you choose it?

Mrs. Hackett: Our Town, and the reason is because I taught it in the classroom and I became very aware that we had some very talented freshmen students that year. We didn’t have any money or any costumes, we didn’t have any sets, there was nothing.  Anything we had that year I had to go shopping to the consignment shops and I used my own costumes that I had from high school. If you know anything about Our Town, you know that you don’t really need any scenery except for a couple of tables and a couple of trellises. It was the perfect fit for us since we didn’t have money and nothing stored away to work with, so it was a great first show. It was one of the closest casts I’ve ever worked with and became probably the most memorable because it was the first.

Clarion Reported: Was the program as successful in the beginning as it is currently?

Mrs. Hackett: I guess it depends on  what you regard as successful. We had a great number of students show interest in cast and crew, but I knew it would take at least five years to generate enough money to become a self-sustaining program, which is what the Board of Education expected me to do. Each year the Board of Education said that my stipend would have to come out of the proceeds from each play, so our hope was that we would be able to be self sustaining and as well as pay for the rights to the shows.For my first four years here we only did one show a year. I would start the show late in the year, usually after the holidays, and we would try to do it in March, and those first four years we made enough money to then give me the courage to ask if I could try something we have never tried before, and that was Disney’s ” High School Musical.” That show changed every possibility in the future for us. The year was Fall 2007, and our program would continue to grow bigger than ever! We ended up filling  the auditorium to capacity that weekend, and we made more money than we could ever dream of making. That was enough money to then change the whole face of theater here, and I knew from then on we would be able to do two shows a year. In the Spring of 2008,  I did  my very first real Broadway show, “My Fair Lady.”

Clarion Reporter: Was there ever a moment where you felt overwhelmed and didn’t want to continue the program?

Mrs. Hackett: Every single year was overwhelming, and I would question myself “Can I do this?” The longer I  did it I would just remember the year before and tell myself, “don’t doubt, it’s going to be fine.” After Disney’s “High School Musical” and “My Fair Lady”, we doubled the number of kids who wanted to be involved in the program. I made a decision at that point. I told myself that I wasn’t going to complain or be negative just because the process was overwhelming–every show would need tremendous preparation. I would already be thinking about the next year, so mentally it was a huge responsibility, but I thought if I can’t love it and enjoy it and make it this a great positive experience for the kids, then I wouldn’t do it. But for as long as I did it , I wanted it to be something that would make a difference in their lives , and I wanted it to be one of the most positive, safe, fun environments wherein they could make new friends, express themselves, and find out things about themselves that perhaps they never knew.  I’m glad it was always a terrific experience for me despite any challenges.

Clarion Reporter: Did you ever expect to run the Theater program as long as you have ?

Mrs. Hackett: I thought I might do it for a long time, but I wasn’t sure how many years it would be. I wanted to do it until I knew the program was really stable and that  no  matter if I was a part of it or not, it would stand on its own. That was my dream. Because we never know what life will bring us year to year, and I wanted to be sure  that something that I had created and dreamed would last , whether I was there or not. I didn’t want the program to just be my program, it was the kids’ program , but I knew I had to be at the helm for quite a long time to establish it.

Clarion Reporter: What was your favorite show to direct?

Mrs. Hackett: Every show holds very special memories for me, ever single one of them. They are all favorites for different reasons. Sometimes it would be because of the cast, sometimes because the material was just great, sometimes it would be because of working with the orchestra or the choreography,  or sometimes working with the crew. It’s hard to pick a favorite one because each show was at least 200 or more hours, so if I was going to invest that much time in a show and the kids involved in it, you can bet there were going to be some favorite moments and wonderful things about it. If you named any show we did,  I can tell you why I loved it. I think the most memorable show that I ever directed would be “ Our Town,”  because it was the first one, and I directed that show with Mrs. Tanis, although at the time she was Ms. Faber. The show that was the most challenging was “The Miracle Worker.” I loved that show so much, and I still enjoy close friendships with that cast, although they are all over the country now!

Clarion reporter: When and why did you decide to retire from the program?

Mrs. Hackett: I like to call it stepping down into the wings and letting  Ms. Griffin step forward. It was a very difficult decision to make. It was time for me to focus on me. I had poured myself out so much over the last 13 years  and it was taking its toll physically and mentally on me. I needed to step into the wings, knowing that the program is well established and it can stand on its own. I could do it because I can trust now that the program was in great hands and would continue to follow the dream that I had established. Otherwise I couldn’t have walked away, and I think that’s why I didn’t for so long.  You have to love what you’re doing and you have to love kids and you have to believe what you’re doing is making a difference, and I did.  I didn’t want to lose anything or have anything weakened in the program, and once I knew that it would be fine, I could walk away and begin to take better care of myself.

Clarion Reporter: If you were to give any advice to Ms.Griffin, what would it be?

Mrs. Hackett: The first show we worked on together  since she began working here at HHS was “Guys and Dolls,” so she has been working with me for 6 years, 2 shows a year. She has vast experience and we were like two parts of the same brain. I knew she loved it as much as I did, so to turn it over to her would be easy for me to do;I just needed her to have enough experience to be able to do it and still be able to want it. She knows I will forever be in the wings encouraging her and supporting her. I whispered my advice to her last year as we hugged after closing the curtain one final time at strike-the-set.  It was a line from “The Matchmaker,” which Ms. Griffin had starred as Mrs. Irene Molloy in her senior year, my second year as director.  I said, “Make the most of it, dear.”  She knew the line quite well and what it all meant for her now. It’s what I preached to myself– “don’t do it if you can’t love it;  don’t do it if you can’t enjoy the kids;don’t do it if it’s too much that it stops being fun. Naturally, you are going to have times where it is difficult and challenging, but anything worthwhile is going to be that way.” I advised her to enjoy it and make the most of it,and at some point when it stops being all that it should be for you, walk away from the director’s chair  and give it to someone else who will carry on the amazing legacy of HHS theater.  I am so thankful for her and those who helped me in that auditorium over the years.  I am so thankful for 13 years, 24 shows, and hundreds of students whose lives touched mine.  It changed my life; I’ll never forget it.