Welcome to Pioneer Theatre Guild’s blog!! Over the next few weeks, I’m going to introduce the organization that’s become my second home for the past 3 years. My name is Maia Gleason, and I am the current Vice President of Theatre Guild. During much of the school year, it is not uncommon for me to spend more time in Schreiber Auditorium and the surrounding area that at my house. I joined Theatre Guild my second week of high school, after being cast in the ensemble of High School Musical. I had absolutely no experience singing or acting in any sort of performing experience with the exception of Middle School Choir. I have spent time in both the technical and performance aspects of shows. As cheesy as this sounds, Theatre Guild has defined my high school experience and been an incredible influence on the person I have become.

Some look at Theatre Guild and see only an after school activity with a reservoir of talent, but as a student who has spent about 90% of her high school time thinking about, being at, or wishing I was at Theatre Guild, I can honestly say that the true beauty of PTG lies in the relationships made and the learning done. For example, during Tech Week (the week before a show opens where we all get to stay at PiHi until 9:30 every night, the week where study groups, homework circles, and card games have never been so fun, the week that many people look forward to the entire year), it is not uncommon to find the majority of the slap-happy cast and crew sharing life stories while participating in a massage train and listening to the soundtracks of every musical ever performed.

Theatre Guild is an extraordinarily accepting place. Every single person who wishes to participate in any quantity will find a place in our community. No one is rejected or fails to make the cut. If a hopeful actor does not make it into a show, they are urged to join a backstage crew. Pioneer Theatre Guild is an organization that is run mainly by Pioneer students who all share a love and passion for theatre, music, and learning. Although the term “theatre guild” may imply that we are composed mostly of performing artists, and that you need to be experts in this field to be involved, this could not be farther from the truth. PTG prides itself on the quality of our backstage experience. We have 7 crews that design and build sets, paint these sets, design and sew costumes, design and apply makeup, operate the sound equipment and provide sound effects, design and operate the lighting displays, and make the props.

These crews have some adult supervision, but for the most part they are run by the students themselves! This makes for a very relaxed environment, where the techies (as we call them) will be doing their respective work while dancing to German music (infamous to paint crew), while sipping on Mountain Dew (infamous to sets crew), while advising each other on their latest social dilemma (makeup crew), while laughing so hard the actors can hear them in Schreiber Auditorium while we are trying to learn the Finale of Act 1. In the past, crews have had the experience of creating a 3/4-size helicopter that lowered onto the stage in a chaotic an incredibly emotional scene of Miss Saigon.

Painters have risen to the challenge of making a floor-to-ceiling portrait of Mr. Cladwell, the guy everybody loved to hate in our latest musical, Urinetown: The Musical.

The performing aspects of Theatre Guild are nothing short of incredible. We are fortunate enough to work very closely with University of Michigan Musical Theatre students. They act as directors, assistant directors, choreographers, and music directors for our musicals and FutureStars. This is a wonderful opportunity for students, as we are able to receive guidance, insight, and creative direction from people very close to our age who not only live and breathe theatre and music, but are some of the most talented, knowledgeable, and inspiring leaders in this field. Our crews also connect with UM experts and our tech kids learn directly from senior students and graduates of the university’s outstanding theater production and performing arts technology departments.

Our straight plays and Competition plays are directed by Alex Leydenfrost and Julia Glander, two very respected and talented actors, writers and directors. . Both have had experience in film and theatre both regionally and nationally. They have plentiful experience working with youth, and we are very lucky to have such dedicated people working with our actors. Alex also directs our Comedy Troupe, an improv group that likes to believe they’re really funny (based on my own obsession with their hilarious and very relevant shows, I can attest that their beliefs are true.)

PTG treats its shows not only as performances, but as opportunities to teach both the audience and the performers/techies. For Miss Saigon, we heard live accounts of Vietnamese civilians, movie producers, and others who experienced the effects of the Vietnam War, watched documentaries on the war, did in depth research of the tragic historical event that we were attempting to portray, and even created histories for our characters so as to become the civilians, soldiers, and children, not just represent them. For Urinetown, we brought the quirky and over-the-top story line to reality by adopting a village in rural Kenya that does not have clean running water. We sold water and baked goods, and sent all of our profits to an organization that would then provide this city with clean water systems. For more information on our upcoming season, past shows, or just about Theatre Guild in general, please visit our website www.ptguild.org . More to come as we start our new school year and welcome brand new 9th graders with open arms into the TG fold!