Preparing for Boothbay Region High School’s performances of the musical “Newsies” – set for Friday, May 6 at 6 p.m. and Saturday, May 7 at 1 and 4 p.m. – has created a vibrant, deeply interconnected community for student-actors, teacher-actors, adult mentors, sound and tech managers, stage managers and ticket sellers. Practice is three to four days a week, for an hour and a half, starting in March.

Mary Miller, the music and drama teacher at BRHS, has overseen the musicals for over 30 years. She repeatedly sees students growing in confidence and building strong relationships throughout the two months of rehearsing. “The number one scariest researched phenomenon is speaking in front of people. So a lot of people think they can't. I think everyone can, and they will, by the end. Oftentimes, (there are) people that say they would never act out certain parts. After a while, they’ll come out of themselves and start singing. Anyone I’ve ever had to convince to be in the play just because I needed another person always ends up having fun.”

Senior Emerson Harris, 17, playing one of the lead characters, described the kinds of people drawn to and unified through theater, compared to the stereotype that theater students are all outgoing and confident. “Shy kids, or kids who don’t talk as much, are just as brave, too. There are different types of kids in theater. But we all unite on stage, we see people coming together and we’re like ‘Wow, I didn’t know they could be such good friends.’”

Miller explained, often children are drawn to the community yet hesitant to act. “Some people want to be in it but they don’t want lines, they just want to be a part of the group scenes. But if I need them to say a line, near the end I can get them to do it. You know, I don’t make anyone go up and perform if they’re not comfortable. But they always will. They always will. I see them volunteering for more. Say there’s a group scene and I need a couple lines said. At first, they won’t say anything. Later, they’ll start volunteering and stepping up to the plate.”

Harris said, “We’re pretty chill, we’re here to have fun. We’re not, like, competitive or anything, instead we’re very supportive of each other. We’ll be goofy, it’s about enjoying the experience together.”

Freshman Spencer Pottle, 15, who is also playing a lead character, said, “I think the great word is ‘comfortable.’ (At first) you’re just meeting each other, everyone is kind of quiet. But over time, you just, like, really grow a connection. It matters less that you’ll make mistakes and you can learn from one another. When you start staging the show you can see people bouncing off each other. I think that’s really cool. Like without really talking, you can know what the other is thinking and feeling.”

Miller likened the community built through theater to that of a sports team. “If you’re in a baseball team then, yeah, you have that camaraderie. But if you’re playing second base, you bat by yourself, it’s not like someone else on the team is going to affect what you do. But in a play, it does. (Actors) need to have cues from each other. If they don’t, they won’t remember their lines. They’re all part of the team. Theater is just as much about making a team as it is in a sport.”