Welcome to Playbill's new initiative, PLAYBILLDER Spotlight, highlighting shows and events from educational institutions 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.
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Featured this week is Schaumburg on Stage—a youth theatre in Schaumburg, Illinois—and their production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber musical retells the story of Joseph from the Bible's book of Genesis, following the favorite of eleven brothers as he is sold into slavery and is held captive by Egyptian nobility. Joseph uses his powers of interpretation to guide Pharaoh and Egypt out of a great famine in this rags-to-riches story.
Executive Director Mary Alice Benoit shared with Playbill why the company performs Joseph every five years, and how stage mishaps are just as educational as a perfect performance.
How many years have you been teaching?
Mary Alice Benoit: Schaumburg On Stage has been doing youth educational theatre for more than 26 years. I have been with the organization for the past six years, first as a volunteer and now as the Executive Director. We have cultivated a great volunteer core to assist our professional staff. Kids aren't just in our shows. The shows become a family event, and we wouldn't have it any other way.
What is your proudest moment as an educator?
My proudest moment as an educator was years ago when we were doing Les Misérables with 76 children ages 8 to 18. During one of the performances, our turntable malfunctioned and did not turn. I was in the audience in a panic as I did not think the kids would know what to do, as they were facing upstage waiting for the turntable to turn them toward the audience. I was about to run backstage to try and instruct them as to their next move, when I saw all 70-plus of them turn in unison toward the audience without missing a single note of their song. I was never more proud of a group of young actors in my life. They stayed calm and in character even when things did not go as planned and they didn't miss a beat!
How does your school’s performing arts programs impact your community?
Our youth theater education program has impacted our community for more than two decades. We now have children in our shows whose parents were in our shows. Post COVID, however, we have had fewer participants in our programming. It seems theatre is slow to rebound even in youth theatre. The response from our patrons is overwhelmingly strong. Just recently, over 1,900 patrons came to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with a cast of only 47. So many people came to just see a good show, even though they didn't know a single student in our cast. This is evidence that people are wanting to enjoy the arts again, and we are going to do our best to bring it to them.
What did the kids love so much about performing in this show?
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has been a Schaumburg On Stage favorite since we started 26 years ago. We perform it about every five years just because it is so fun to sing and dance non-stop for 90 minutes! We always tell our kids to do their best and they will never be disappointed in themselves. We work them hard, and they respond by bringing everything they have to the stage.
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!
