TPS Drama presents...

Muddah Goose

Pennington's First Radio Play

by David Lightfoot

directed by Sophia Amaro '20 and Leah Balerna '20

Artwork by Sanjana Padmanabhan '24

Act I

7:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 14

Act II

7:00 p.m. on Friday, May 15

Cast

SAM: Patrick Conroy '25

BO PEEP: Micah Bowser '24

BARNEY: Matthew Passalacqua '25

OLD MAC: Benjamin Pearlberg '25

MISS MUFFET: Sandhya Mahadevan '24

SPIDER: Dustin Liu '25

BIG BAD: Hunter Schaffer '24

MAYOR THOMAS: William Arthur '24

BETSY: Sanjana Padmanabhan '24

SUZY SHARP: Kae Sanders '25

LILA LANCE: Danielle DiDomenico '24

LACEY GOODENOUGH: Abby Gibbons '24

SISTER SPOONER: Sarah Birkenstock '25

“SCOOP” LAWRENCE: Makayla Tudor '25

ELLIOT NESS: Teddy Molner '24

GILMORE: Shayna Mehta '24

MADISON: Drew Bridges '24

SHIRLEY HOLMES: Sammy Lambdin '24

NURSE WATSON: Emily Howe '24

DR. Y: Ciaran Walsh '24

PAIGE TURNER: Teagan Walsh '24

MITZY: Jelly Wan '24

DITZY: Praslin Hayes '24

BLITZY: Elizabeth Tu '24

SNITZY: Riya Mehra '24

GEORGY PORGY: Nicky Tuzza '26

DICE: Lucas Medina '24

PIEMAN: Keke Nwoye '24

SIMON: Leo Momo '26

COP: Ella Sichel '26

JACOB: Alice Singh '25

WILHELM: Aimee Zou '25

MARY: Polaris Hayes '24

QUEEN OF HEARTS: Clementine Bowden '26

BLIND MOUSE #1: Rebecca Tu '24

BLIND MOUSE #2: Emerson Ross '25

BLIND MOUSE #3: Zoya Mehra '26

JACK: Tyler Hope '24

HECKLER 1: Praslin Hayes '24

HECKLER 2: Anna Basile '25

RAPUNZEL: Julia Sperry-Fernandez '26

MOTHER HUBBARD: Olivia Lee '26

OLD WOMAN: Anna Basile '25

CINDERELLA: Emily Birkenstock '26

Featuring Mr. Jamie Moore '03 as THE RADIO ANNOUNCER.

Production

Directors: Sophia Amaro '20 and Leah Balerna '20

Advisor to the Directors: Mr. Peter V. Secrest '13

Teacher of Senior Seminar: Ms. Suzanne Houston

Technical Directors: Ms. Caroline Hall and Ms. Lisa Houston

Director of Video and Audio Editing: Mr. Scott Vogel

Costume Director: Mrs. Lisa Fitzpatrick

Technical Production Manager: Mr. Jason Harding

Stage Manager: Michael Fingerman '25

Carpentry: Owen Doughty '24

Sound: Owen Doughty '24, Dustin Liu '25, Jack Fermo '25, and Will Harding '19

Composers: Mr. Philip Krohnengold and Sandeep Hastings-Kimball '23

Background Stills: Mei Mei Castranova '24 and Nicolette Kirikian '24

Marketing Imagery/T-Shirt Design: Sanjana Padmanabhan '24

Costume Captains: Sammy Lambdin '24 and Teagan Walsh '24

Tech Crew:

Arun Bhattacharjee '24, Lia Brunetti-Carroll '25, Alex Burton '25, Jonah Celentana '24, Nora Close '26, Dimitri Espinoza '26, Praslin Hayes '24, Alex Lee '24, Lucas Medina '25, Hunter Shaffer '24, Myla Tudor '26

Costume Crew

Anna Basile '25, Emily Birkenstock '26, Clementine Bowden '26, Emma Normand '26, Julia Sperry-Fernanez '26, Rebecca Tu '24, Nicky Tuzza '26, Catherine Vincent '26, Ciaran Walsh '26

A Word from the Creative Team

The Middle School Play always prides itself on being a student-led production, from the direction to its construction. A tradition established in 2013 is for a senior to return to the Middle School Play as the director. The Middle School Tech and Costume Crews are classes that give students the skills, tools, and time to build and construct the set, props, lighting, sound, and costumes involved in the show. While we were not able to fully utilize their creativity and skills this year, we thank those who were still able to contribute and hold those who were not in our hearts.

Directors' Note

Pennington Drama has been a huge part of our lives since Middle School. Directing the Middle School Play was something we always knew we wanted to do, therefore being given the opportunity to direct Muddah Goose was a dream come true. It feels as though our Pennington Drama careers are really coming full circle, and being able to inspire Middle Schoolers to love drama as much as we do has been the most rewarding experience. We have learned so much about ourselves, each other, and the wonderful faculty and students here at Pennington. We have faced many challenges, had many laughs, and created so many special relationships with the new people we have gotten to know through creating this production. The Pennington Middle School is truly a special place, which is all reflected in the outcome of Muddah Goose.

We are incredibly grateful for this amazing cast and crew that has stuck by the production through the events of COVID-19. The Middle Schoolers always brought infectious positive energy to every virtual rehearsal, which continued to inspire us throughout the entire process. We have learned the true meaning of community while directing this production. We had so much support from mentors, and our actors could not have succeeded in creating this radio play without them. We took everything day by day and were able to create a production so unique that it will make its mark in Pennington Drama history, which is everything we could have hoped for. Muddah Goose is so special because it brought out everyone’s creativity and determination to create an amazing show, despite any challenges. After going through this experience, we know that we are capable of doing anything, no matter where life takes us. Muddah Goose has shown us that when one door closes, an even better one opens up.

With the help from our mentors, we were able to come up with the idea for a radio show that anyone could listen to in the comfort of their own homes. Since Muddah Goose is set in the 1920s, it was the perfect way to put on the production. Radio plays were the basis of many people’s entertainment during that time, and we were so excited to be able to transport our audience into the world of Breezy City. We wanted to make sure that anyone who wanted to continue to participate in the show could, and our tech crew has truly stepped up to this challenge. Middle School Tech Crew created stills of the different locations in the show as a backdrop for our radio show. Some members of the Tech Crew also recorded the sound effects for the entire show. The show would not have been possible if it were not for their ideas throughout the process. The Costume Crew was able to design outfits for each character from the articles of clothing they had in their homes. This way, the actors were still able to get in costume and take photos with their groups to use as promo photos. We were lucky enough to have such a talented group of kids to help us along the way, and we will always be grateful.

We would like to thank the very special people who helped us put together this production of Muddah Goose. Ms. S. Houston has taught us so much over the past year, and she continued to motivate us, even at our low points. The creativity of the costumes is because of Mrs. Fitzpatrick, who did more than we could have asked for in designing the costumes. Ms. Hall and Ms. Houston were always there for us with words of wisdom to carry us through each day, and their ideas with the Tech Crew are the reason we were able to create such an incredible radio play. We would like to thank Mr. Secrest for all of the work he has put into this production, and for putting up with us every day. We are so thankful for his guidance throughout this process, and we would have been lost without him. To our Middle Schoolers, thank you for sticking by us throughout this entire process and never giving up. You have made a huge impact on our lives, and we can’t wait to see you in more shows in the future. This experience has truly taught us that “Sometimes, a surprise can be a good thing.”

~ Sophia Amaro '20 and Leah Balerna '20

A Note on this Year's Middle School Radio Play

This year, with a strong group of eighth-graders, and dedicated sixth- and seventh-graders, we had every hope to re-mount this production with full sets, lighting, and costumes. It seemed the perfect choice. But this spring was a huge surprise! Lucky for us, we picked a show set in the 1920s. We entered rehearsal with plans A (onstage production), B (fully staged as a radio play), and C (radio recording) in mind. Plan C is where we landed—Pennington's first-ever radio show! This was not an easy process, but it provided the students, and Leah and Sophia, with a great opportunity to stay creative and connected in an uncertain time, full of surprises.

A Note on the Production History of Muddah Goose

Mr. David Lightfoot was the type of Pennington faculty member who could not only serve the Cervone Center as a most excellent Communication Skills teacher, and his halls as a dedicated hall parent, but he could also write and direct. During his tenure here, he wrote six original Middle School productions to fit our students and the topics they were studying at the time. He also served as the play director during that time, as well. Simply put, he knows Middle Schoolers, and we love his plays. Pennington originally mounted this production under his direction in 2002, and then again, in 2010 directed by faculty members Ms. Kaitlyn Kenney and Dr. Melissa Headley. Ms. Suzanne Houston also directed it in Princeton in 2003. There is something really special about this show because all of the many characters have their own moment to shine. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the students in both of those productions went on to serve as the core members of the Upper School Drama trips to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2007 and 2012.

A Note to Sophia and Leah from Mr. Secrest and Ms. S. Houston

As Shakespeare wrote, The Wheel has come full circle… The greatest thing about this project is watching people like you grow up in the Lecture Center and not only become incredible thinkers, leaders, and directors, but develop into true theatre artists, painstakingly completing all types of tasks to make an incredible final product. You learned practical skills like how to navigate Zoom, find royalty-free music, manage 40+ people, send endless group messages, discover the magic of spreadsheets, give notes and feedback, and inspire people to follow your lead, but you also learned how to look critically at theatre and make it better and better. We hope you never lose that eye for excellence.

Special Thanks

David Lightfoot, Dolores Eaton and the Arts Department, Chrissie Knight and the Middle School Advisors, Chelsi Meyerson, Scott Vogel, Ken Coakley, Lori Lipsky, Lissa Kiser, Julia Corrigan, Communications, Jamie Moore, Doug West, Peter Chase, Will Harding, Don Dolan, Molly Nelson, Faust, The Fighting Inca, Aslan, Chad Bridges, The Pennington School Administration and Faculty, TPS Drama Parents

Quarantine Costumes

Fireside Chat Photographs

In the midst of a changing world, Middle School Costume Crew designed different costumes for different scenarios, and one included costumes with clothing found around the house. Even though we were unable to use costumes in our radio play, we had a day to connect and create with costumes!

Submit fireside photos to psecrest@penninton.org!

One element of a show at home instead of at the theatre is we lose out on the connection of a live audience. As you listen to the show, take pictures of your family to share with the community!

A majority of the cast sporting their show T-shirt designed by Sanjana Padmanabhan '24.

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