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Fairport, N.Y. —
As with all budget seasons, many in the Fairport district are repeating one plea to administrators — to please, spare the drama.
The Fairport district is not planning to cut any theater arts classes, according to Superdintendent Dr. Jon Hunter, but there will likely be reductions made to art and music programming within the district next year.
The conversation has brought extracurriculars like athletics and theater programs into the spotlight as the district’s budget deficit leaves many wondering what’s on the chopping block.
While elementary and high school theater productions may not require the most tax dollars to stay afloat, they do require long hours after school and on weekends for students, staff and their families. But many say the payoff of participating in theater go beyond a bottom line.
Break a leg, not the bank
Each year, the Fairport High School drama program provides over 140 students the chance to participate in three performances.
Although tax dollars cover the cost of using the facilities and the contractual stipend for teachers who direct the plays, most of the funding for school productions comes from ticket sales and fundraisers from booster clubs or parent-teacher organizations.
Kim Fabrizi teaches music at Martha Brown Middle School and directs the school plays, including the upcoming production of “Oliver.” Each of the two school productions costs at least $5,000 to produce, she explained. For spring musicals, nearly half of this cost goes toward purchasing the rights to the play.
This often means building set and making costumes on a shoestring budget.
“It’s always a challenge because you wish you could offer the kids more,” said Fabrizi.
Where are they now?
Sammi Cohen went to FHS and recently graduated with a degree in theater performance from Wagner College. Today, the 23-year-old is touring with Rochester Children’s Theater’s show “Sweet House,” performing at urban area schools, while working at the Eastman Theater box office part-time.
Before picking her major, she acted in school plays and sang in the jazz choir — two things that made her feel accepted and helped prepare her for college auditions.
“This was the one thing I could picture myself doing,” she said. “Financially, I’m not going to be incredibly secure, but I would never tell kids not to pursue their passion in life.”
Despite these things, Cohen said she has no regrets.
“Ultimately, it’s something kids need to decide for themselves.”
As with all budget seasons, many in the Fairport district are repeating one plea to administrators — to please, spare the drama.
The Fairport district is not planning to cut any theater arts classes, according to Superdintendent Dr. Jon Hunter, but there will likely be reductions made to art and music programming within the district next year.
The conversation has brought extracurriculars like athletics and theater programs into the spotlight as the district’s budget deficit leaves many wondering what’s on the chopping block.
While elementary and high school theater productions may not require the most tax dollars to stay afloat, they do require long hours after school and on weekends for students, staff and their families. But many say the payoff of participating in theater go beyond a bottom line.
Break a leg, not the bank
Each year, the Fairport High School drama program provides over 140 students the chance to participate in three performances.
Although tax dollars cover the cost of using the facilities and the contractual stipend for teachers who direct the plays, most of the funding for school productions comes from ticket sales and fundraisers from booster clubs or parent-teacher organizations.
Kim Fabrizi teaches music at Martha Brown Middle School and directs the school plays, including the upcoming production of “Oliver.” Each of the two school productions costs at least $5,000 to produce, she explained. For spring musicals, nearly half of this cost goes toward purchasing the rights to the play.
This often means building set and making costumes on a shoestring budget.
“It’s always a challenge because you wish you could offer the kids more,” said Fabrizi.
Where are they now?
Sammi Cohen went to FHS and recently graduated with a degree in theater performance from Wagner College. Today, the 23-year-old is touring with Rochester Children’s Theater’s show “Sweet House,” performing at urban area schools, while working at the Eastman Theater box office part-time.
Before picking her major, she acted in school plays and sang in the jazz choir — two things that made her feel accepted and helped prepare her for college auditions.
“This was the one thing I could picture myself doing,” she said. “Financially, I’m not going to be incredibly secure, but I would never tell kids not to pursue their passion in life.”
Despite these things, Cohen said she has no regrets.
“Ultimately, it’s something kids need to decide for themselves.”
Going broke on happiness
While students hit the stage for their own reasons, many parents say that they see the benefits of theater from a different perspective.
Ann Zasowski says she supports her daughter’s excitement for theater for the sheer joy of it.
“She beams when she’s on stage,” she said.
Her daughter, Kate, is a junior at FHS. When it comes to picking a major for college, many talented students like her must decide whether a career in the arts is worth pursuing, or whether they should opt for something that will pay the bills.
To see her daughter take that joy of performing throughout her career would be great.
“On the other side of things, I want my child to be able to get a job,” she said. “I think the only answer is for her to do something that gives her some security but also have her do what she loves.”
Building life skills
But whether or not students look to make theater their lifelong goal, parents and experts say the experience leaves lasting results.
Only in theater to shy students find the confidence to speak in front of an audience while crew members brainstorm ways to
Mark Cole has been the chair of the SUNY Oswego theater department for 43 years, where he teaches theater and coordinates the college’s annual high school drama festival. “The arts, such as theatre, are worth preserving as they invite the entire student — the physical, mental and inner or emotional life of the student to participate in complex and intriguing ways,” wrote Cole in an email.
He added that theater combines subjects like history, literature, politics, and even physics.
“When an audience witnesses a complex scene change flawlessly executed by the crew, a change that connects to the energy and flow of the production, they are witnessing teamwork at its most successful,” Cole wrote. “It's a moment when technology and art flow together.”
