[NEohioPAL]From the Director of Urinetown at Stagecrafters

Wed Nov 8 09:37:17 PST 2006

<html><div style='background-color:'>Hello, my name is Jamie Koeth and I am the Director of Urinetown at Stagecrafters.
First, I wanted to say thank you to all that have lent your support to us.  It means alot.
I grew up in Mentor and graduated from Lake Catholic High School which is right around the corner from the Mentor Schools where Bev teaches.  The first two musicals I ever performed in were My Fair Lady and Anything Goes at LCHS in 1990 & 1991.  Dated?  Maybe.  But those experiences changed my life forever and I have Elaine Paulett, my high school Drama Director to thank for that.
When I directed Les Mis School Edition at Stagecrafters a few years ago, I was touched to have a student from my Alma Mater in the leading role of Jean Valjean.  He later mentioned to me that the teachers and staff at LCHS were so inspired by our production that they decided to produce it the following year.  He reprised his role for his community at home and it was very well received.  If that's not progressive, I don't know what is.
Back in my teenage years, the Lake Catholic Drama Department and Elaine Paulett gave me an opprtunity to shine that no one else would.  Elaine gave me a voice which I so deperately needed and it irrevocably changed me.  I am now a member of the Actor's Equity Association, have performed in two National Tours, etc. and more importantly, have directed teens at Stagecrafters for many years. 
In working with Stagecrafters, I now find that I have an opportunity to give that same voice to young adults today.  What a gift that is.  But haven't times changed a bit?
I think Bev's concern is well intentioned.  We should protect our youth to a degree but does this mean to shelter them and separate them from the real world altogether?  Others have mentioned that the subject matter in Chicago, which she produced for teens,  is far worse.  I would whole-heartedly agree.  I saw Urinetown on Broadway and recently again at Carousel Dinner Theatre.  Carousel did a fantastic job!  My only complaint is that they didn't use more local talent.  
For the life of me, I still cannot find anything offensive in the play whatsoever.  Urinetown is a play about oppression, revolution and the dangers of not conserving our resources.  It is a dark comedy with a little truth and a whole lot of silliness.  Is this something our teens can't handle?  Isn't it important to our future and theirs?
I am not offended by Bev's conservative nature at all.  It is possible that at the Mentor Schools where she teaches today, Urinetown would not be well received.  But, Stagecrafters does not serve only her community.  
We are fortunate to have students from well over 35 different public and private schools from all over Greater Cleveland.  We pride ourselves on listening to our community as a whole and we choose our productions accordingly.  To be more specific, our parents and students helped to choose this show.  This is what our community wants...to be educated, challenged and inspired.
When I direct a play, I treat my actors as young adults and they respond accordingly.  They rise to the occasion.  The students that come to Stagecrafters are, without a doubt, mature enough to handle the content in Urinetown.  They know what they are in for and they are very excited about it.  Shouldn't we all be educated on a play's content before auditioning?  It is also essential that actors can relate to their work and each other with passion and respect.  This is the atmosphere at Stagecrafters.  Here the collective energy is an empowering force and I am humbled to be a part of it.
Maybe we see the purpose of art and theatre very differently.  But, that's OK.  I believe differences should be celebrated.  It's what makes the world of theatre so powerful.  
Bev, I would like to cordially invite you to attend any of our performances in April.  I will send you two complimentary tickets and would love to discuss your opinions after seeing how these teens handle the show and it's subject matter.
Next year, I'm considering Hair, Assassins, RENT or Avenue Q.  What do you think?
.... Just kidding!  ;)
Sincerely,
Jamie Koeth, Director of Urinetown, the Musical
  
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>From Mike Wypasek <sunshinecomedy at earthlink.net>  Wed Nov  8 17:56:29 2006
From: Mike Wypasek <sunshinecomedy at earthlink.net> (Mike Wypasek)
Date: Wed, 8 Nov 2006 12:56:29 -0500 (GMT-05:00)
Subject: [NEohioPAL]yet another Response to URINETOWN emails
Message-ID: <30250614.1163008590211.JavaMail.root at elwamui-polski.atl.sa.earthlink.net>

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<DIV>What is really hope for the future is that one parent didn't raise such a hub-bub about this to the school board that everyone on the board got week kneed and cancelled the show.  It says a lot about the population of your cities that this  play can be put on in a high school and welcomed with such grace and dignity.  And the high school student who posted here deserves hero status.  He showed once again that in many, many, many cases, adults at their peril sorely underestimate the wisdom of youth.  Bravo!!!<BR><BR><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid">-----Original Message----- <BR>From: Kim <ANGELYOGADIVA at SBCGLOBAL.NET><BR>Sent: Nov 8, 2006 11:44 AM <BR>To: neohiopal at lists.fredsternfeld.com <BR>Subject: [NEohioPAL]yet another Response to URINETOWN emails <BR><BR><ZZZHTML><ZZZHEAD><ZZZMETA content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv="Content-Type"><ZZZMETA content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2180" name="GENERATOR">
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<DIV><FONT size=4>Free country, freedom of expression, freedom of speech , .....live and let live!!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Bless you for coloring outside the lines!!!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>and what an eloquent response from an 11th grade student...hope for the future!~~~</FONT></DIV>
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