Stagecraft helping East Valley high schoolers create, learn

By Jason W. Brooks
Mail | X: @JasonWBrooks2

When school district leaders brag on the diversity of its high school programs, theater arts students and teachers always want to be in that mention.

Casteel High School’s stagecraft students battle for that visibility as well — along with pining for facilities, materials and encouraging the public to attend the shows they produce themselves.

“When the whole production comes together, like at the dress rehearsal and opening night, that’s such a wonderful feeling to see what you helped build or design,” Casteel senior Joey Crum said. “That’s when you feel like you’ve really done something.”

Stagecraft I and II, or TechTheatre, are among the most public-facing career and technical education classes offered at Chandler Unified district high schools, in terms of creating a product the public will quickly see.

Offered at Casteel, Hamilton, Arizona College Prep and Perry high schools, the comprehensive classes are where students work on actual live entertainment stage productions, giving students valuable behind-the-scenes experiences with several aspects of theater.

Jack Pieza — a 2016 Hamilton alum himself — took over teaching stagecraft at Casteel in the fall of 2021.

“The best part is that it’s all student-led,” Pieza said. “Staff reminds them of all the aspects to keep in mind, but the set design, hair and makeup, stage direction, the lighting, the rigging, the props, the sound, blocking — all of it’s set up by stagecraft students.”

Pieza said it’s important, in selecting plays and musicals, to know the stagecraft students’ overall strengths, along with the capabilities of the Susan Eissinger Performing Arts Center.

Also, there is casting to consider in terms of numbers. Pieza said he and recently departed drama teacher Alyssa Pitner know they want to have opportunities for as many performers and tech students as possible, though the cast of 45 in the April 2024 production of “Anastasia” required intense arranging and managing.

“It’s got to check several boxes,” Pieza said. “The script must be one schools can legally use. We need to be able to build all the appropriate sets. And, probably most importantly, it has to be something that can be cast and crewed by that particular school, so it has to involve the right number of people.”

The Casteel Theatre Company & Drama Club is extra-curricular, meaning Stagecraft are expected to contribute to and staff a fall and spring production in each school year, but a student need not be enrolled in Stagecraft in order to join the club and help with productions.

Pieza said staff encourages a simpler play in the fall, when newer, younger students might still be learning new routines and skills, followed by an often more elaborate musical in the spring. In March, it was The Sound of Music, with its multiple settings and much need for vocal talent and arrangement.

The fall production will be “The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People.” The late 19th-century, three-act play by Oscar Wilde has a modest-size cast.

Pieza said when Pitner started the drama program in 2017, there wasn’t the legacy to build from that there is today.

“There’s a lot of passed-on knowledge from older students to the younger ones, so starting a theater program is really tough,” Pieza said. “Now, we’re finally to the point to where there are not only (Casteel) Junior High School students who see the creative possibilities, but even younger kids tell us this is the kind of thing they want to do.”

Alumni include Jamie Ko, Brielle Norlie and others who’ve gone on to university or other post-secondary, professional or nonprofit theater arts programs.

Kambri Boretsky said she got involved in the costuming and wardrobe side of stagecraft after talking with Pieza, who urged her to sign up for the class. Though Boretsky plans to train to become a dental hygienist, there are many rewarding elements to stagecraft.

“Seeing, on stage, something you helped set up, that’s a great feeling,” she said.

Even Crum, who’s more set on a career in theater production, is flexible on where his planned theater studies at Rowan University in New Jersey takes him.

“It doesn’t have to be Broadway,” Crum said. “Wherever I could design shows, I think I’d be comfortable with that.”

Email Jason W. Brooks at jbrooks@iniusa.org. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.

Jason W. Brooks
News Editor | Chandler Independent

Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.

Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.

Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.

Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.

Community: He supports animal shelters.