Ada Shin ‘25
The St. Andrew’s Theater Program produces incredible shows filled with talent and dedication from students and faculty alike. However, while theater is a fun experience which allows for people to see life in new perspectives, is it truly valued within the St. Andrew’s community?
Among the four “pillars” of St. Andrew’s is the arts, which teaches important skills necessary for navigating life, such as empathy, access to creativity, and considering new perspectives. Over time, St. Andrew’s theater has gained a following of dedicated friends and family who fill the crowds on opening night. However, while the theater program is valued by administration and the school as a whole, St. Andrew’s shows don’t always draw big audiences.
“A lot of community schools and public schools draw from the community in that neighborhood or surrounding neighborhoods,” said Mr. Ritchie Porter, Director of St. Andrew’s theater productions.
“We’re very spread out, and people are very busy, so it is hard to get people to stay,” said Porter.
Some students simply have other commitments and don’t have ample time to see the performances.
“Because we’re a small school, we need kids to be involved in a lot of things,” Ms. Cobb said. “So many kids are involved in sports, and they have to get home and do their things, and they’re busy on the weekends.”
However, in my opinion some people simply aren’t interested in theater. The St. Andrew’s community is divided among different extracurriculars, and this makes it difficult for the theater department to get on the radar of uninterested students.
So what can be done? Well, it is important to remember that the issue doesn’t lie purely in the hands of the community, but also the theater program. “Instead of blaming potential audience members that don’t come, I think we need to meet each other halfway,” Mr. Porter said. The theater program needs to do more in order to entice the public into watching a production, and the community must respond in turn.
One option is more widespread publicity. Senior Pamela Kim said, “I think the promotion could be more spread out, maybe three weeks beforehand and then gradually doing more advertisements around the school.”
In the past, St. Andrew’s offered teasers for theater productions during the Grandparents’ day assembly, to share a bit of what the show is about to those who may not necessarily know anything about it.
Additionally, students could host pizza parties on the day of the Friday night show so students stay to see the production, a practice used in the past to gather more supporters at sports games.
Finally, it is important for the St. Andrew’s community to become more open to other subjects and try new things. “Our school is really divided by cliques at this moment, and that makes it less desirable to go see performing arts,” said junior Kati Ahuja.
“Something that we could all do is to be more open-minded, and try to understand where everybody’s coming from,” said Ahuja. “We need to make an effort to know people beyond the surface level.”
Photograph via the Communications Department
