By: Alayna Irby-Pi

January 26, 2024

When the holidays roll around there are many events that take place within the school. Annually our principal Dr. Tim Healey takes the big spotlight in the auditorium getting involved in the school holiday spirit. Students gather around to watch the lengthy performance put on with the help of one of the CFPA Theatre Teachers, Claire Gillespie. 

 “I got the idea to have the show after attending the winter shows of dance, choir, orchestra, and band and thinking that I wish each area could perform their best piece or two for the entire student body,” Dr. Healey said.       

Weeks leading up to the show, there are lots of preparations made by the theater program behind the scenes. They must decide on what Christmas carols will or will not be performed in the show. The selection proved difficult when three of the involved CFPA teachers caught COVID-19. Thankfully, they were all feeling better and ready for the show just in time! In prior years, teachers would be advised to sign up to take their students to the amphitheater to watch the Healey Palooza.     

This year, Dr. Healey persisted in stating that there will be an attempt to put on the show multiple times during the school day so that all students at the school can attend the performance. This will give lots of students who have never attended the performance to watch unlike in previous years. Colgan is a performing music and arts school that practices all the skills that were highlighted in the school's annual Healey Palooza.  

“Transitioning from hosting to being in the Musical Theatre Ensemble wasn’t too hard at all. To be fair, we rehearsed and drilled the performance over the past 2 months in cast, so I had already built-up endurance {and mentally prepared myself} for it. The only worry I ever had was having to recover after straight-up falling at the end of the MT performance and having to get up and be all happy host again…. Ow,” Senior Clare McKeown said.

Thanks to Dr. Healey there were many other aspects went into the production of the show. The other sections of the program are the students in charge of lighting and entertainment of the student and staff body. Taking note of the students' festive outfits, the day of the performance resonates with many further lifting the holiday spirit among students and staff throughout the school.

“All of it is my favorite!  Each section of the show makes me incredibly proud, and I celebrate the contributions of every performer and every teacher involved. I feel lucky to be the principal of this school and love watching the talent of our students,” Dr. Healey said.