Coleytown Company: Tickets Available for their Return Debut
Coleytown Company actors prepare the virtual performance of “Middle of the Road” with the help of Coleytown Middle School teacher Rob Rogers, directed by theater arts instructor Ben Frimmer. Tickets are available hereColeytown Middle School‘s Coleytown Company is back on stage after the over two year closure of their school building. With face masks and a 32 million dollar renovation - the middle school acting group’s first performance will stream virtually May 21st - May 23rd.
Students remained masked while singing during recording. After Coleytown Middle School first closed in September 2018, the CMS staff and students found themselves going to school just up the road at Bedford Middle School’s campus. The two middle schools created one “super campus” - with Coleytown members quickly transitioning to their new environment, such as Coleytown Company Director and Theater Arts Educator Ben Frimmer.
Just over a year later in March, Bedford and Coleytown would join schools around the world by shutting their doors and sending kids home indefinitely as reports of the coronavirus played out on the international stage.
“It really was devastating to lose our home.” said Frimmer, who grew up in Westport and has taught theatrical arts for over 25 year.
The director had to quickly change gears to prepare students for the pandemic learning model when students were allowed back into the buildings this Fall, continuing to explain the challenges that he faced: “COVID struck and all of a sudden children were locked behind masks. So much of what I do is about emotion and expression and students lost their ability to share their smiles.”
Some of the Coleytown Company members during downtime at after-school rehearsal. Frimmer looked back on the time at the Bedford super campus and the changes it had, saying “Instead of teaching theatre in my black box space, I suddenly found myself teaching theatre on a cart in 6 different rooms including a science lab.”
However the transition also brought new opportunities, like banding together with Bedford Middle School’s acting group - the Bedford Theater Company.
“We were able to offer programming which included bringing in Broadway talent as both guest artists and collaborators. We also were able to beef up the technical theatre experience for our students by bringing in professional designers to work in a studio model with many of our students.” Frimmer explained.
Cheering on their friends on stage.“As educators, we had to reinvent ourselves and become the example of being flexible and adaptable. For many of us, though challenging, we found it rejuvenating and invigorating. I had to rethink every class I taught and come up with new ways to present the critical information and skills” he continued.
In January, the doors at Coleytown Middle School were opened again to students and staff. Frimmer was back in his black box theater, and this month, the curtains for Coleytown Company were drawn back as the stage was ready again for the spotlight.
Coming Soon: "Middle of the Road: A Musical Revue
The Westport Local Press was able to join the Coleytown Company kids and staff members this month as they rehearsed for their first show, “Middle of the Road: a Musical Revue” using technology and virtual formats that were unheard of when they last stepped onto the stage.
Now masked and socially distant, the company is reinventing their system - learning along the way.
With the help of fellow CMS teachers, Frimmer and the Coleytown kids use camera and lighting equipment with editing softwares to create the show while remaining safe, saying “The cameras and editing allowed us to place two "maskless" people on camera at the same time but shoot them separately.”
One of Coleytown Company’s actors sing during a sound check.
Coleytown Company has had upwards of 80 children in their group in years past, however this year - a hearty group of 11 kids filled the auditorium with their singing and laughter. Frimmer hopes that with more normalcy next year, the number of participants will once again rise.
When asked about the future, Frimmer ended with “My goal is for every child to feel they’re in a special place when they walk through our doors.”
Reinventing themselves since 2018, the Coleytown Middle School’s Coleytown Company is ready for their big debut. The show they’re working on is about one’s individuality - with tickets available now on their website for the end of May streaming dates.