The Flood that Set the Stage

On the night of Friday the 13th, disaster struck at Kenmore West. An old pipe burst in Mr. Clinch’s room leaving his room and the ones under it in a state of distress. The rooms under his were part of the arts department including the photography room on the second floor (241) and the theatre space (135). 

On Monday morning when students arrived at school, the long hallway to the theatre that  extends off of the main hall was blocked off with a sign that said “No Entry.” Upon further inspection, it became apparent that we would not have access to our space any time soon. The space reeked of a mix of wet dog and mildew. The only places left untouched by water damage were the Goulding Theatre and the stage itself. The props room and classroom got the worst of the flood with water damage on the floor and the ceiling.  

Theatre West is no stranger to large setbacks. During the production of "Fiddler On the Roof," our costume supplier unfortunately suffered a large fire leaving us with no costumes one week before the show. Again, during the production of “Sherwood: The Adventures of Robin Hood,” a lead actor and our stage manager got COVID just two days before the show. 

In the face of adversity, Theatre West pushes through no matter what the challenge. This was just the same. In fact, the first thing that Ms. Gruninger said to all of her students was “We are going to be fine. The show will go on...always!” Nobody questioned if the show would go on, it was just a matter of how.

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind, with students staying at school until 11:00 pm on school nights to make sure that the production would be possible. As the district worked hard to clean and reopen our space, we worked simultaneously to make sure we were prepared for the show.

The parents of the cast and crew have been working so hard to make this show possible and fundraising for the production in all the ways they can. From getting free lights to selling football squares, I am sure that everybody on Facebook knows the situation we are in. It is no surprise that WGRZ took an interest in our story. They came to school Friday, October 27th to speak with Ms. Gruninger and Hannah Kaderabeck (see link below). My favorite quote from the story was one from Ms. Gruninger herself. She says, “I have never seen kids like theater kids. They truly are a family… they plant themselves and they figure it out and they make it happen.”

Radium Girls opens this Thursday night, November 2nd. This show tells the true story of Grace Fryer, a factory worker in the early 1900s, and her fight for justice. Everybody involved in the production has worked incredibly hard to make this happen and would love to share this story with you. Please come out and support this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30 pm. You can buy tickets using this link: theatrewest.booktix.com