Parkland High thespians reflect on lessons of putting on a show about Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting aftermath

High school theater students don’t normally shy away from difficult material — for many actors, it’s part of theater’s allure.But normally, new Parkland High School graduate Olivia Behr explained, once a rehearsal or performance is over, an actor can leave a tough role and recover.This was not the case for the 13 Parkland students who embodied people from Newtown, Connecticut, for the play “26 Pebbles.” The play, which examines the community aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that claimed the lives of 26 school staff and young children in 2012, is among 11 shows selected nationwide for a performance this week at the International Thespian Festival in Nebraska.Behr, whose cousins were students at Sandy Hook at the time of the shooting, said the reality of school shooting violence has made the play one that feels relevant at all times — even when the actors are no longer on stage.Parkland High’s director of performing arts said he was well aware that choosing “26 Pebbles,” a show by Eric Ulloa published in 2017, was a risky venture. Because of the sensitive material, he said, he checked with administrators before committing to the choice in early 2018 — something he hadn’t done in a long time.
(Frank Mitman / Contributed photo/)One of the characters Behr plays in the show is Jenn, based on a mother of one of the Sandy Hook victims. Portraying a real person who has endured the unthinkable takes a toll. But Behr said Mark Stutz, the director of visual and performing arts at Parkland High School, was ready to provide whatever support students required, including grief counseling.“We usually get to come out of it afterward,” Behr said of a difficult role. “But this one really tends to follow you around. And sometimes it did get scary and it did get real and you had to find a way to get yourself out of a dark place.”Stutz was well aware that choosing “26 Pebbles,” a show by Eric Ulloa published in 2017, was a risky venture. Because of the sensitive material, he said, he checked with administrators before committing to the choice in early 2018 — something he hadn’t done in a long time. Stutz, a 20-year veteran of high school theater at Parkland, was relieved to get the superintendent’s blessing. He believed the show was an important one, but wouldn’t realize how relevant until weeks later, when tragedy unfolded in Parkland, Florida.A former student at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School killed 17 people Feb. 14, 2018. The tragedy hit closer to home than usual when it was revealed that a Parkland student had cousins at Marjory Stoneman.The shared name between the local district and Florida town also created a bond between the distant high schools. A fundraising effort, dubbed Parkland For Parkland, helped students rally behind peers and raise money for Florida victims’ families.“From then on, I think it was very raw for us,” said Aubree Williams, another newly graduated Parkland actress.Stutz knew he would bring the show to the state competition in December, but he wasn’t sure he’d pay the fee to have it secretly judged for qualification for the national festival. He tried with previous shows, but none made the cut.“But as I saw this show evolve and saw this crew and cast really take to this source material, I knew this was something special,” Stutz said. “Seeing them care not just about performances, but about making a statement through this performance. It was starting to take on a life of its own.”Research for the show was brutal. Stutz had students watch “Newtown,” a Netflix documentary on the shooting and what followed. He assigned students to research and get to know victims. The cast connected and interviewed Behr’s cousins, and a teacher from the school.“They had to know everything,” Stutz said. “Everything about the town. How it was before and how it was after.”Students said the difficult work prepared them to take on roles that may have seemed daunting otherwise.The student cast and crew of Parkland High’s “26 Pebbles” said putting on the show was difficult, but rewarding. (Frank Mitman/)The show’s stage crew said the material shook them as well. Lauren Petrocelli, 16-year-old incoming senior who worked as the sound board operator and designer, did a lot of research about Newtown based on news reports following the shooting. She found herself combing minute details about the day of the tragedy and the heartache that followed.Getting through the script was hard, she said. What she wasn’t expecting was how each performance hit her in different ways as she watched from her position in the center of the auditorium, even though she knew every word. She wasn’t alone.“The first couple rehearsals, I just lost it,” said fellow crew member Heather Mellow, an incoming junior.Working together created a sense of community among cast and crew. And the lessons learned from the show went beyond theater skills. For Noah Erlemann, now a Parkland grad, the show drove home the importance of vulnerability: “You learn it’s OK to cry. It’s OK to be sad and vulnerable. It’s OK to ask for help.” It helps that the overarching theme of the play isn’t as dark as the events that led to its creation. Williams said the play ends with a message of community and resilience.“I think we didn’t realize how much this would change all of our lives,” she said. “I look at my parents differently now. I can’t imagine how it felt for them when this happened. This has taught us that as a community and a nation we can heal and do better. We have to do better.”The cast and crew found out in January that they were selected for the international festival, well after the final school performances were over. The students had the rare opportunity to resurrect the play and approach certain roles differently, having grown both as actors and individuals in the interim.Students also raised about $30,000 toward the $40,000 cost of the trip. Stutz said he was amazed at the leadership and work ethic of already busy students in ensuring they could help defray the costs.As for their debut in Nebraska, the cast and crew are emphatic: There are no butterflies, only excitement.“Doing this in front of a bunch of people who also love this art and want to share this message is so special,” said Jenny Delorimier, an incoming senior.But even as they celebrated and prepared for the festival performance, the pain of the subject matter returned. Jeremy Richman, father of Sandy Hook victim Avielle, 6, who with his wife founded the Avielle Foundation to better understand violent behavior, was found dead March 25 of an apparent suicide.Behr said it was a reminder that though the show may have a tidy ending, the pain and healing from such violence does not.“It’s not bookended like a play. It continues,” Behr said. “It’s never gone. But it reinforces how important the message of community really is.”Morning Call reporter Sarah M. Wojcik can be reached at 610-778-2283 or swojcik@mcall.com.
Source: Morningcall