Three Saugus High School Drama Club students talk about the thrill of theatre in their lives

By Mark E. Vogler

Playing the part of main character Woyzeck makes Madelynne Leonard one of the stars in the play “Woyzeck (Re-Imagined),” which the Saugus High School Drama Club will perform at 2 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday, March 1) in the Lemoine-Mitchell Auditorium at Saugus High School. For Madelynne and the other 12 cast members and the 24 students involved in production staff, this will be a chance for all of them to really shine in their young theatre careers, as Saugus High competes against seven other schools in a preliminary round of the Massachusetts High School Drama Festival.

But for the 16-year-old Saugus High junior, the chance to be a part of local theatre is more than just a hobby. “I’ve had my heart set on theatre as a career since I was a freshman in High School and I’ve been involved in plays since I was four years old,” Madelynne said in an interview last Friday.

“I’m happy to pursue both acting and biochemistry at whatever school that I go to after I graduate,” Madelynne said.

“Right now, my top choice is New York University. They have the Number One performing arts school in the country,” she said.

Madelynne’s character is Woyzeck, an army barber who endures psychological humiliation by his captain and painful physical experimentation by his doctor to make extra money for Marie, his common-law wife, and their child.

She’s participated in many plays since early childhood. “My first show was at North Shore Community College,” said Madelynne.

“It was for little kids. I was the Wicked Witch of the West. I was the only one who wanted to be the witch. I was just four and I started dancing at that time,” she said.

“My mom drives me all over the state so I can pursue my passion. I’m the first actor in my family. But I got to love theatre from my mom and grandmother. They introduced me to ‘The Sound of Music,’ ‘West Side Story’ and ‘A Chorus Line.’ I used to watch movies of these musicals,” she said.

“I danced and did figure skating, but my main focus has always been theatre,” she said.

Madelynne calls herself “a very busy bee.” She’s president of the school’s acapella group and vice president of the Paranormal Club. A National Honor Society member, she’s also involved in community theatre – the Concord Youth Theatre and the TTS Players of Byfield.

“I love expressing myself through art, taking on these characters and expressing myself through them. It’s really important to me because I’ve always loved storytelling. I’m involved in a little bit of everything when it comes to performing and visual arts,” she said.

“There are definitely things I want to pursue beyond the college level – music, art, dance and creative writing,” Madelynne said.

“I love film. I would love to be a filmmaker if I ever solidified a career on Broadway,” she said.

An outlet for a creative student

Involvement in community theater has also been a big part of Kate Petipas’ life as a Saugus High School student. Kate plays the part of Marie, Woyzeck’s common-law wife. She’s also president of the Saugus High School Drama Club. Kate and Madelynne shared the costume design duty for the play.

Like Madelynne, Kate’s theatre experience has been extensive since childhood. She has worked with the Theatre Company of Saugus since the second grade. “I’ve been doing theatre since the first grade,” Kate said.

“Since starting out in the first grade, acting is something I’m really connected with. It’s an amazing environment. I’m someone who is really creative and this has given me an outlet to work in,” she said.

“What got me into theatre? My sister was always big in theatre. It came super easy for me. I was involved in sports and playing the piano as a kid. But I didn’t connect to it like I did in theatre,” she said.

Theatre, though, takes a back seat to Kate’s career objectives. “I’m drawn to acting through this community that the Saugus High School Drama Club builds,” she said. “But I’m super focused on my career goals as a psychologist. I’m going to the University of Vermont to pursue a career in clinical psychology,” said the National Honor Society member.

A passion for lighting design

James McNary, a 17-year-old senior at Saugus High School, is the student technical director of the Drama Club and was in charge of scene design and lighting design and student technical director. He’s the main man behind the scenes, working on technical aspects that are crucial to the play’s presentation. He works with a couple of theatres professionally, with the lighting design and the theatrical electrician work, like hanging the lights. He’s worked with the Greater Boston Stage Company.

“My real passion is lighting design. A lot of that involves specialized lighting fixtures that fit the set,” James said.

“I really like building things and that relates to my career path in engineering. I’ve been doing theatre since the fourth grade,” he said.

James was born in Vermont and moved to Saugus from Newton during his freshman year of High School. He’s an Honors AP student who was invited to join the National Honor Society, but declined to join.

“I’m pursuing engineering at Western New England University. I’m going to major in aerospace engineering,” James said.

“As a youngster in elementary school, I really enjoyed reading and thought about how I could design the world from the books I read. And I realized when I got older, that I could take these plays and scripts that the director chose and build the world that fits the script. That involves the lighting and the scenic design.”

Who’s who in the play

Here’s a list of the students of the Saugus High School Drama Club and the roles they will be playing in “Woyzeck (Re-Imagined)”: Carnival Barker: Hannah Evers-Jenkins; Woyzeck: Madelynne Leonard; Captain: Pedro Spalenza; Sergeant: Mason Ranno; Andres: Diego Silva Garcia; Marie: Kate Petipas; Margret: Keisha Sauld; Drum Major: Brayden Verone; Doctor: Zahra Ghaouta; Ensemble: Maddie Sachs; Ensemble: Kane Bruno; Ensemble: Ari Conte; Ensemble: Audrina Giglio.

Crew/Production Team: Director/Technical Director: Mr. Nicholas Raponi; Assistant Director/Adaptation: Mr. Kyle Gregory; Master Carpenter: Mr. John Sullivan; Costume Supervisor: Mrs. Elvira Schoenthal.

Student Team: Stage Manager: Larissa Ambrosio; Asst. Stage Manager: Cadence Coburn & Alexandra Brackett; Lighting Design & Scenic Design: James McNary; Costume Design: Kate Petipas & Madelynne Leonard; Sound Design: Josephine Pepper; Asst. Sound Design: Charlie Bruno; Live Original Compositions: Gabriel Menendez-Rosa; Live Musicians: Gabriel Menendez-Rosa, Cornyn Meas; Hair & Makeup Design: Cadence Coburn, Nari Lam, Sara Loeser; Props Design: Nari Lam; Tech Crew: Alex Marquez, Elizabeth Colwell, Justin Frongillo, Jenny Nichols, Josh Mikalixen, Keneyshla Ramirez, Seamus Burke, Shelbi Edwards, Red Cassarino, Kayla Villefranche, Azra Ozgur, Marielle Zepeda, Sara Loeser, Tarah Dascoli, Sean Lynch.