By Sienna Ryan & Piper Marshall
Laurie McDermott, the director of Nyack Drama Club, has kicked off her second year at Nyack High School. Last year, she directed both Peter and the Starcatcher and The Prom. This fall, Nyack High School’s drama club will be traveling to Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, through Thornton Wilder’s classic play Our Town, where we explore the lives of George Gibbs and Emily Webb and learn about the importance of interconnectedness.
We asked McDermott why she felt compelled to choose Our Town: “I really wanted to try my hand at an iconic piece, and I’ve been attracted to Our Town for like, all my adult life,” McDermott explained. “I really wanted to do it because I’m trying to understand how we lost that connection – that interpersonal connection.”
“I want to boil it down,” McDermott said, explaining her vision for this piece. “...the most important thing is human connection, which is why the set is almost just a background rather than integral to the piece, and I want it to feel like you’re seeing snippets of a truthful life being lived.”
She wants this production to have an impact. "I think we’ve lost our purpose of how to be good humans. How to lean on one another and trust one another.” She believes this show will bring light to that “human connection” and make us all, as a community, better people.
Our Town will be opening at Nyack High School on November 7th and closing on November 8th. Join us as we make our way through this story, and-- maybe-- we can all become “good humans”.