Over the last several years, the Eastchester Middle School Players Club has continually pushed boundaries with their performances, aiming to hit new highs each time the troupe takes the stage. This December, the EMS actors will fly higher than ever before—literally—when they raise the curtains on their production of Mary Poppins.
Last week, the young actors got a chance to soar across the stage during rehearsals as students took turns testing some stage equipment that will be integral to next month’s performance: a harness and pulley system that will be used to hoist the famous nanny high above the floorboards as both the show and the character take flight.
EMS Players Club Co-Directors Madeline Rende and Erin Bonner said that there is always a motivation to one-up the previous year’s production, so when they announced Mary Poppins as this year’s show, they began to think about what elements could be added to the performance to help it stand out.
“We were thinking how we could make this bigger than Beauty and the Beast; it’s not a competition, but we want to keep improving,” said Bonner. “So, we thought, ‘let’s put them up in the air!’”
Enlisting the help of On the FLY—a St. Louis-based stage tech company that specializes in the installation of equipment for professional shows as well as high school and middle school productions—the EMS Players Club had the flight rig attached to the auditorium battens, and began training on the equipment on Thursday. It was a chance for the stage crew operators to learn how to safely—and effectively—use the harness system, while offering crew and cast members the opportunity to leave gravity behind, if only for a while.
“[On the FLY] was amazing to work with, and we would definitely recommend the company to other schools,” said Rende. “The most important thing is that this is safe to use, and our representative even helped us choreograph what we would be doing.”
Eighth-grader Georgina Partridge, who landed the title role in next month’s production, said there was some chatter after the play was selected that there may be a component of flight in the show, but that seeing the professional-grade equipment in action has been something of an eye-opener.
“[Ms. Rende and Ms. Bonner] had hinted at it, but I didn’t know we were actually going to fly until earlier in the year,” said Partridge. “It was crazy because we’ve never really done anything like this before, in terms of being in the air on stage, so it’s been a really cool experience.
“I’m definitely excited to fly,” she added. “I’m a little nervous to do it on stage, in front of a crowd, but I do a lot of ropes courses, so I’m used to being in the air.”
The EMS Players Club has added a third performance this year—a Saturday afternoon matinee will join the troupe’s Friday and Saturday night productions—and both Bonner and Rende believe that the show will be a memorable one for all ages, potentially serving to inspire the next generation of the Players Club.
“Theater is just so magical, and if we can bring a special effect into the show that’s magical to them, even as an audience member, that is our goal,” said Bonner. “Just to watch something like that, it can be a life-changing experience. So much of my joy from theater has come from being an audience member, and if we can bring that feeling to other kids, that would be amazing.”
Below is a list of performance times for the EMS Players Club production of Mary Poppins:
Friday, Dec. 13, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 14, 12 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 14, 7 p.m.
Purchase your tickets HERE
