Welcome to PLAYBILLDER Spotlight, where Playbill highlights shows from educational institutions or regional theatres and special events around the country (who have used Playbill's program-building service). By welcoming these PLAYBILLDERs center stage, we hope to give our readers a more in-depth look at theatre programs that are fostering the love of the performing arts in the next generation and the way theatre lovers are bringing Playbill along for life's big moments.
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This week's spotlight is Aloha High School of Beaverton, Oregon, and their production of The Comedy of Errors. The Shakespearean comedy tells the story of two sets of identical twins accidentally separated at birth. One of William Shakespeare's most farcical comedies, the cases of mistaken identity lead to romance, madness, and plenty of slapstick encounters.
Drama teacher Chelsea Curto shared with Playbill how she models her performing arts program after the professional world, what legacy she hopes to leave at her high school, and why it was important for her to introduce her students to Shakespeare.

Tell us a little about yourself. How many years have you been teaching?
Chelsea Curto: I taught high school theatre for six years, but then took an almost 10-year break to have a different life. I ran an corporate entertainment company that specialized in tech-integrated dance performance in Singapore. Then, I went back to school to get my MFA in Directing and worked in Development for a theatre company here in Oregon before returning to the classroom earlier this year to teach theatre at Aloha High School.
Can you share a little bit about the value you see in having a performing arts program in schools?
Performing arts programs are especially valuable when modeled after the professional world, where what happens in the admin office and the scene shop and the box office is just as important as what happens onstage. I hope students leave my program feeling part of something bigger than themselves, with a thorough understanding of the many moving parts it takes to bring theatre to life.

How does your school’s performing arts programs impact your community?
We run Aloha Theatre on a committee model. My student-run Development Committee facilitates relationships with alumni and recruits middle schoolers to join our program when they get to high school. Our History Committee is collaborating with community members to digitize archival footage of Aloha Theatre productions from the 1970s. The Steward Committee runs lights and sound and sets up the stage for non-theatre events that use our auditorium. I hope Aloha Theatre students realize that putting on a show is one facet of what we do, but the community-building we do before, during, and after putting on shows is what has the lasting positive effect on our school and community.
What are your dreams for how your drama department can grow?
I am the fifth theatre teacher at Aloha High School. Carol Coburn ran the program from the school's founding in 1968 until her death in the late '90s. The impact she had on the program cannot be overstated. Alumni still visit us and share stories about her legacy. I hope I can have a similar lasting positive impact on the students who go through Aloha Theatre under my stewardship.

Tell us a little bit about the production. What made you pick the show?
I picked The Comedy of Errors because I was hired just before the school year started and I did not have time to secure rights to anything else! For the first few weeks, I interviewed my new students and they overwhelmingly requested a comedy, citing too many tragedies and dark shows (and dark times) in the past several years. I also found out that this group of 9-12 graders had never done a Shakespeare production as the theatre teacher before me was anti-Shakespeare! Even though I fully intend to introduce the students to a more diverse slate of playwrights in the future, I wanted them to have a Shakespearean experience. I hope to do a Shakespeare production once every five years, moving forward.
How did the students participate in the design of the show or the production of this Playbill?
Our student dramaturg for this production curated all the material for the Playbill! She interviewed every actor and crew member and helped them write a professional bio. In fact, this production was almost entirely student-designed. I am so proud of the work they did to create costumes (building the Antipholus vests from scratch!), to design the lighting, to design and build the set, and even to create music for transitions and perform live foley onstage. You can even see some of the photos of their work in the Playbill on the back cover.
What reactions do you expect to see in students when they see their name printed in this Playbill for the first time?
I ordered 250 copies of the Playbill and the audience took every single one. We had lots of positive feedback from the audience about the Playbill!

How has PLAYBILLDER impacted your performing arts program as a resource?
PLAYBILLDER allowed me to turn program design over to students and give them ownership of the design and editing process. We were able to collaboratively make changes to ensure there were no errors and then see a proof of the final version before printing. I really appreciated the ease of ordering programs!
To design Broadway-quality programs for your next show, head to PLAYBILLDER.com. Who knows, you might just be featured in our next PLAYBILLDER Spotlight! And if you are looking for a beautiful way to display your Playbills, click here to purchase Playbill frames.