The Show Must Go On!
CLARKE MIDDLE SCHOOL DRAMA COACH AND ALL-AROUND THEATER MAGICIAN ALYSON BROWN GOES ABOVE AND BEYOND FOR HER STUDENT ACTORS!
A lyson Brown has possibly the most difficult job in Lexington. As a drama teacher at Clarke Middle School, she’s responsible for corralling dozens of 6th through 8th graders into a theatrical production in just 12 weeks.Not only does she direct the shows, she creates the costumes, designs the choreography, coaches vocalists, juggles the budget, oversees the lighting and stage props, communicates with parents, and much more. And when a student gets stage fright, she’s like a therapist and relaxation guru all in one.
There’s always a sense of relief and sadness when a show wraps. The latest Clarke production was Frozen, which wrapped in February. The musical posed a particular challenge for Brown because it was so familiar and beloved by audiences. How to bring ice and snow to the stage? What should Olaf the magical toy snowman look like? How does Elsa transform in an instant from a coronation costume to her “Let it Go” ice queen gown? And how do you make a girl look like Sven the reindeer? “It’s hard to make a person look like a reindeer,” said Brown who didn’t want her actress, Anoushka Menon, to look overly caribou-like but still recognizable as a reindeer. The solution was puppetry, with appendages for the back legs and moving the mouth with hands, while being encased in fur, a hot and sweaty task.
To see Brown at work with the students – talking to them during auditions, clarifying how a character would behave or speak, tweaking gestures – is to watch a dynamo in action. Brown says that oddly enough, she’s actually quite shy and doesn’t like to be the center of attention. When she’s involved with a production, however, she becomes more confident and outgoing. “I see that with my students too. Theater is amazing in that way.”
Brown has been at Clarke Middle School for almost three decades now. She’s directed hundreds of shows, at least two per year, from Willy Wonka to Lion King, Jungle Book, and more. She refuses to say that working with middle schoolers is challenging or difficult; instead, Brown believes that middle school performers are incredibly capable. “I tell them at the beginning of the rehearsal process that I’m going to treat them as professionals because I know they are capable of greatness. They continuously amaze me with their passion and their talent.”
In fact, middle school is when Brown first discovered her love for theatre. She grew up in Haverhill where she gathered the neighborhood kids to put on plays, writing the scripts and casting the parts. She even made the costumes between rehearsing in the backyard and singing and dancing. When she took her first drama class, she realized that theatre needed to be an integral part of her life. She went on to receive a degree from The Boston Conservatory of Music, now Berklee, with studies in musical theater, directing, lighting, and costume design. Her parents, skeptical at first, ended up believing in her chosen career, even remortgaging their home to pay for her college tuition.
Brown was performing in shows and getting rave reviews from arts critics when there was a horrific turning point in her life. Following her graduation from the conservatory, she was in a terrible car accident. The car she was traveling in was hit by a tractor-trailer truck and she was ejected from the vehicle. Brown was severely injured; including head injuries, vocal cord damage, memory loss and more. She spent several years rehabilitating, and once she learned to walk and talk again, “It was really clear that I would not be able to earn a living in the incredibly competitive world of theatre as a performer,” Brown said. It was devastating for her. “Theater is who I am at my core and to lose it all together was not something I could fathom,” said Brown.
But she began working as a theater director and educator, which brought her to the Harrington after school program and from there, Clarke. Now she has a reputation as drama teacher who goes all out, taking kids on field trips to Broadway and even London to study at Shakespeare’s Globe theatre. She also holds workshops for students, bringing in a theatre professional who has worked on a particular production to talk to the students. Last year, for example, Ilana Levine — “Lucy” from the Broadway production of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown — spent a day at Clarke giving feedback and tips to the young performers. Brown also somehow finds time to posts every day on her blog, clarkedrama.com/ms-browns-blog, writing everything from recipes (“Willy Wonka’s Chocolate River”) to quizzes (“Name that musical”) to classics (“Let’s Learn about Shakespeare”). In January hosted Broadway star Patti Murin who originated the role of Anna in Frozen. More than just a brief visit, this was an interactive workshop with students.
With thousands of students having taken her classes and starring in her stage performances, it’s no surprise that many of Brown’s students have gone onto to successful careers in film, TV, and stage. Her own, son, Kenneth, 17 years, doesn’t perform in theater, but has grown up attending rehearsals and shows and Brown says, “in some ways, he’s been an honorary member of the Clarke drama program.” Together, he and Brown will go to NYC to see a show and come home the same day. But for the months preceding the opening of any musical, Brown is Clarke-committed, attending rehearsals at school three days a week or more and hunkering down in her sewing studio creating the costumes.
What will the spring musical be for Clarke? Brown alternates between male and female lead shows and tries to focus on literature and shows that have a good story. “Theater is, after all, storytelling,” said Brown, who has announced that the show will be Charlotte’s Web. “I want to challenge myself and my students so I like to mix up the theatrical styles as well.”
Does Brown have the most difficult job in Lexington? No, it may be the most rewarding.
“I have very high expectations — especially of myself. I want the students to be proud of their show and expect them to work hard on the art form. I’m constantly in awe of how much enthusiasm and willingness they have to learn the art form. They inspire me every day.”