SHREWSBURY – Al-Hamra Academy students are busy putting the final touches on the school’s first-ever set of plays and musicals.
At one recent rehearsal, they gathered in a circle, talking with co-directors Cate D’Angelo and Ben Heath about their costumes. They then ran through one of the musical numbers in their show, “The Ten-Year Test.”
“The Ten-Year Test” is one of two shows the academy will be presenting on March 26 along with “The Bee Play.”
D’Angelo said that she’s enjoyed watching the students relax, explore their characters and make friends with students in other grades through this process.
“It’s really touching, especially when I think about it in context of the pandemic we’ve all been through,” she said. “…It feels extra special to watch them and be part of that with them and share with them the magic that theater does.”
Plays aim to highlight relevant, empowering stories
“The Ten-Year Test” features fifth through eighth grade students. It’s a musical that tells the story of a group of Muslim and non-Muslim students who come together to try to get Eid recognized as a New York school holiday.
“The Bee Play,” meanwhile, will feature students in kindergarten through fourth grade. It tells the tale of a girl who has a dream where all of the bees are dying.
As D’Angelo described it, she and Heath looked for stories that were relevant and that would empower Al-Hamra students with traces of hope.
That’s true for sixth grader Simrah Mowla, who is in “The Ten-Year Test.”
“I like how it’s about Eid,” Mowla told the Community Advocate. “At our school we get to have Eid off, but, in public schools they don’t.”
“That’s hard,” she said, explaining that a friend of hers has to make the difficult decision of whether to go to school on an important holiday or stay home and get marked absent.
‘Let’s really bring something alive’
D’Angelo said Al-Hamra’s Director of Elementary and Middle School Sanam Zaer had reached out and asked if she would like to direct plays at the school.
“We both haven’t been able to do theater since the pandemic,” D’Angelo said. “[We were thinking] let’s really bring something alive.”
The plays are being put on with the help of grants from the Shrewsbury and Grafton Cultural Councils.
Heath and D’Angelo got to work as soon as they got those grant approvals, beginning rehearsals in February.
“The connections we’re all making will be lasting,” Heath said.
Plays scheduled for March 26
The plays will be performed on March 26 in St. John’s auditorium starting at 2 p.m.
See more information and purchase tickets at https://www.flipcause.com/secure/cause_pdetails/MTQ1MTcz.
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