Hello readers!

So, this is LONG overdue, but I finally had some down time so here it is: The Huron Players blog! (Much applause!)

My name is Elliot Cruz, and I'm on our theatre group's semester board as Thespian Clerk. My duties are basically that of a secretary's; I record the minutes of every weekly Mass Meeting and of every board meeting and I send them out to the parents and other students via e-mail. I also plan the parties and bonding activities as well. I'm on board with four other students; our President, Brian Collins, our Technical Coordinator, Maggie Voorheis, our Head of Fundraising, Micah Warschausky, and our Productions Manager, Jenny Allen. All of them have special duties and responsibilities which I'll cover later. For now, let's just take a general look at the Huron Players.

HP is a group that is devoted to the arts, theatre (obviously), acceptance and having fun. We do 3 full-length shows a year, as well as "Finale", a collection of one-act skits directed by students that we always wrap the year up with. Also, every other year, we co-produce a musical with the Huron music department. We build all our own sets, we get our own props, we help each other out with acting and we always (and by "always" I mean "most of the time,") have fun during tech week. If you don't know what that is, I'll explain everything in just a minute. We're a group where anyone and everyone can find a home, whether it's in the shop, on the stage or in the catwalks/sound booth. We never tell anybody they can't join, and we urge anyone who may have any interest in theater to try it out for themselves. I've seen a lot of people come in skeptical, or nervous or unsure of what they're doing, and after a couple weeks they're having the time of their lives. Case in point; me. I joined HP out of the blue about halfway through my sophomore year, and not only did I discover something that I absolutely loved doing, but I also found a great group of people who I could never have met if I didn't do Huron Players. It's really the people who keep you coming back for more in HP. Some of my best friends are theater kids, and every time I walk in that theater and see them, it instantly makes a bad day good, or a good day even better. But HP isn't just ALL about the people. Oh no. It's about the experience, it's about the fun, it's about walking out onstage on opening night and saying your first line in front of a real audience and not just the director, it's about the adrenaline rush you get from drilling a screw into a two-by-four or whacking a nail into a set piece, it's about the stupid jokes you laugh at while hanging out backstage, the satisfaction you get from watching the product of 2-3 months' work finally go up onstage and the memories you make while you're in that theatre.

As I said before, we do 3 full-length shows a year, plus Finale, and of course the musical every other year. 2 years ago we did Les Miserables and this year we're doing Aida. It'll be pretty boss. The other shows are The Man Who Came to Dinner by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, which we are in the midst of right now, and The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, which will be our spring show. Of course, it's not just the actors who hold the show together (although we like to think we do). We have several crews who play their own significant role in making each show perfect: costumes, props, lighting, painting, sound, makeup, and, the big one, set construction. I'm sure you can guess what each one does. Each crew has a crewhead, who basically is in total control of all the little assistants/slaves/freshmen who help out with the crew. We also have a stage manager (who keeps the director from killing himself), the assistant stage manager (who keeps the stage manager from killing him/herself) and the house manager, who has the MOST important job of all...making sure people stay quiet whenever there's a performance. Without the house manager, Huron Players would fall faster than King Kong off the Empire State building.

Then of course, there's the board; the brightest and best of HP, and 4 other kids. We all play our own parts in the show, whether we're on a crew or in the cast, but we also have our own critical roles to play. I've already told you my duties, but let's look at some of the other board positions.

President (Brian Collins): Our fearless leader. The president is the head honcho, the big cheese, the man behind the curtain, the king of HP-topia. He not only organizes every board meeting and keeps the group together, but he does everything for our group that his title suggests, and more. He gets the word out to the school and the community about our shows, he makes sure that things are going well with the show and the group, and he does whatever he needs to do to make sure we stay on top. It's the President's duty to make sure that everyone in the group feels welcome, and that everyone's having fun. Normal people need not apply to the position of President.

Technical Coordinator (Maggie Voorheis): The second-most important position in HP, the technical coordinator (or tech-co for short) focuses mostly on the behind-the-scenes aspects of the shows: making sure the set is coming along, keeping the crewheads on track, making sure the newbies know how to do technical things (like putting together sets, working the sound board or managing the lights) and just generally doing the things that keep HP running smoothly. It's not always an easy job, but the people who step up to it always have help and they end up doing great.

Head of Fundraising (Micah Warschuasky): The other second-most important job in HP, our fundraising expert basically does what you think he does. Huron Players is a student/parent funded organization, unlike our rich little rivals across town, and the money for putting together these shows, whether it be for lumber, new tools or other expensive but necessary toys, has to come from somewhere. That's where our Head of Fundraising comes in. Every semester, our fundraiser comes up with interesting, fun and worthwhile ways to raise cash for the Huron Players, whether it's a car wash, a garage sale, leaf-raking (a favorite) or selling candy. They also organize ad-selling: a day in which we all go out into town and advertise space in our show programs for local businesses. The Head of Fundraising should be thoughtful and always looking for new ideas.

Productions Manager (Jenny Allen): The other second-most important position on the board, the Productions Manager is responsible for all things HP. Posters, signs, clothes, stickers, whatever! They design the posters for every show, they order the yard signs for us to put up around town, they make t-shirts or sweatshirts or whatever we want for us to show off around school, etc, etc. The productions manager basically makes and designs anything and everything we want/need. Our Productions Managers are generally very artistic and creative and they're always open to suggestions.

Then of course, there's me, the 3rd most important position on board. I've already told you that I basically act as a secretary for Huron Players and that I also plan parties and bonding activities on the side. It's cool, I enjoy doing it.

Well, basically, there it is! HP in a nutshell. The purpose of this blog will be to update you on what's going on throughout the year with our shows and with what's going down behind the scenes too. If you ever have any questions, you can e-mail me at elliotcruzz@gmail.com, or the huron players at thehuronplayers@gmail.com. Make sure you check out our website at http://www.aaps.k12.mi.us/huron.huron_players/home

Until next time, dear readers. As Shakespeare once said, "You stay classy, planet Earth."

-L