HOWARD ARONSON METRO SCHOLARS
21/22 Season Updates
The Howard Aronson Metro Scholars is a competitive program that gives high school juniors the opportunity to learn how a regional theater operates through workshops, performances, and assistantship opportunities. In the 2021/22 Season, twelve students attended our productions and met in a hybrid setting that included both online and in-person workshops as well as projects with our artistic, administrative, and production departments. Our students were hard at work this season with a variety of workshops that were all made possible by YOU! Here is an update as to what they got up to this season.
THE 2021/22 METRO SCHOLARS
Catieann Cody
Kanna Goldilla
Arden Gonzalez
Emily Dayanara Gonzalez
Logan Connor
Isabelle Darman
Eleanor (Ellie) Conover
Emily Landolfi
John Martin
Kirin Patient
Danielle Umbs
Samantha Yannarelli
Thanks to generous support from you and the Aronson, Tenenbaum, and Kean Families, the Howard Aronson Metro Scholars received a wide assortment of opportunities to engage with theater professionals while opening their eyes to the different opportunities that the theater can provide.
WHAT THE SCHOLARS GOT UP TO
THE JOURNEY BEGINS
November 7, 2021 marked the orientation of the Howard Aronson Metro Scholars. Students participated in a few “Get-to-Know-Me” games, learned about Two River’s history and the inner-workings of a not-for-profit regional theater, and went over the program’s activities and expectations. Following the orientation, students and their parents/guardians attended a matinee production of August Wilson’s Radio Golf. On November 21, students gathered again at the theater for an in-depth tour of the Radio Golf set and a workshop about planning a theatrical season and casting for shows. The workshop was led by Director of Education Kate Cordaro.
Marketing Crash Course
On February 5, students participated in a virtual workshop where former Two River Theater Multimedia Manager, Alycia Yerves led the students through a Marketing Case Study of our 2015 world premiere production of Be More Chill and the continued impact of the musical to Off-Broadway, Broadway and beyond. The workshop culminated in students brainstorming how they could utilize these marketing techniques with the shows they were working on at school and in their communities.
TEXTILE TOUR
On February 19, they participated in a workshop and tour of Two River’s costume shop with Costume Shop Supervisor Lesley Sorensen. Lesley also gave the students a project where they picked a non-human Disney character and created a costume design for that character in a stage production. They took inspiration from fabric swatches and accessories in the shop’s costume inventory. Check out some photos of their work below!
Playwriting & Production BTS
In March, students attended a performance of The Hombres by Tony Meneses which is enjoying its world premiere in our black-box Marion Huber Theater. On March 26, the students participated in a set tour led by Master Carpenter Duane Noch and a playwriting class led by Tony Meneses.
Set the stage
In April, The Howard Aronson Metro Scholars participated in a workshop on set design with Ana Novačić, the Set Designer of our production of A Little Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing. A Little Shakespeare, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary during our 2022/23 Season, invites high school students to engage with theater professionals both on stage and behind the scenes to present an abridged version of a Shakespearean play.
Sisters, Coffee and Backstage Peeks
In June, The Howard Aronson Metro Scholars attended a performance of our final production of the 2021/22 Season: Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov, translated by Playwright-in-Residence Madeleine George, directed by Sara Holdren. Did you know, in addition to directing our production of Three Sisters, Sara also directed our 2020 production of Twelfth Night and our A Little Shakespeare productions of Macbeth (2019) and The Comedy of Errors (2018)? Led by Two River’s Master Carpenter Duane Noch, the students participated in a set tour of the production on the Rechnitz stage. During the tour, Duane shared scenic sketches and drafting materials, paint samples, and insider information on the production! As our students did throughout the season, they met after seeing the performance for a Coffee Talk to discuss their thoughts on the production.
How Not to Freak out About College
To culminate the year, our Metro Scholars had a Q&A Session on “How Not to Freak Out About College” with Patricia Decker, Director of Recruitment for NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and participated in an assessment of the program and final closing ceremony.
PHOTOS
Three Sisters Set Tour & Coffee Talk
Scenic Design Workshop
Costume Workshop
The Hombres Set Tour & Playwriting Workshop
METRO SCHOLAR FEEDBACK
With the conclusion of our 2021/22 Season, this season’s Howard Aronson Metro Scholars’ time at our theater came to a close. At the end of the program, we asked for students to provide feedback of their experiences. We are proud to see how, despite ongoing hardships from the pandemic, our students had a lot to take away from our program. See what some had to say below:
Coming into the Metro Scholars program, I strictly wanted to act in film. While I still am interested in film studies I have realized that acting may not be the only thing that I want to do. I have seen and analyzed the play from this program and found myself paying more attention to the set and directing than anything else. I now feel I want to explore directing and cinematography more.
The program really showed me that there is more to theater than the actors. As a crew person at my school I am a million things. I’m Stage Manager, pit player, costumes, props, set. Getting to see that you can focus your time and energy on one department while collaborating with other departments was great.
The Metro Scholar program has heightened my team work and creative capabilities. The other scholars are great and I’m glad to have shared time and thoughts with them
Being a Metro scholar inspired and influenced me in many ways. Without this program I would’ve never been able to see so many shows and gain so much knowledge and creativity. Our workshops have also opened me up to wanting to take up or pursue other arts professions by seeing how it’s done professionally in a school setting.”
I’ve gained more of an appreciation for all of the facets of theater! (set design, directing, casting, etc.). I’ve improved my communication skills. Ability to work with others collaborate.
This year was more than I expected. I was surprised to see how in-depth all of the workshops were. It was an amazing opportunity to experience different aspects of theater that I wasn’t familiar with before.
I loved getting to know everyone and seeing theater in a wider lens. This experience has been so enriching and I am honored and grateful to be a Metro!
The Howard Aronson Metro Scholars program is an amazing program where you can see an insider’s eye into the theater. Learning straight from professionals or just watching how the people working interact shows you the kind of community theater is on a professional scale.
The Howard Aronson Metro Scholars was more or what I expected, it felt great to be in a room full of “art kids” who all had a common outlook on their hopes in dreams. It opened up my mind and interests to be part of theater.
Being a Metro Scholar has helped me a lot. I have learned so much about the theater that I never knew before. I always only thought about being on the stage, but there are so many more aspects and incredibly important parts behind the stage. I am now able to take this useful knowledge with me wherever I go next and I am so happy I got to be a part of this.
I think being a Metro Scholar def gave me more insight as to what it takes to put on a show.
LOOKING AHEAD TO THE 22/23 SEASON
As a new school year approaches, we are looking for our next cohort of Howard Aronson Metro Scholars. If you know a high school junior who may be interested in majoring in theater in college, wants to learn about the inner workings of a professional, regional theater, or loves theater in general, here are some key dates to remember:
Info Session
We will be offering an Information Session on Zoom where teachers, students, and parents can learn about the program from Two River staff and ask questions about the application process, workshops, or anything in general!
Application Deadline
Deadline to submit an application to be a 2022.23 Howard Aronson Metro Scholar. Applications will not be accepted after this date. Teachers, you must submit Teacher Recommendations by this date as well.
Auditions
In-Person Auditions/Presentations/Interviews will take place at our facility. Once all application materials have been received, we will e-mail you a link to schedule your audition and interview.
Scholar Selection
Applicants will be e-mailed by this date to let them know if they have been accepted to the 2022/23 Howard Aronson Metro Scholars program.