What If?: Sonic Exploration in Original Middle School Fall Play, Sounds Off

The story is set in the Realm of Harmonia, where individuals possess a “tone”—a sort of sonic signature central to their identity, from making bird calls to singing to playing an instrument. In the palace, the royal family watches over the realm’s first instrument: the Great Gong, which bestows children with their tones. The play opens with background about the realm, as told by students doing a class presentation at school on the history of sound. Through their presentation, the audience learns that many years ago, when a child did not receive a tone, the realm descended into chaos—the Great Gong even cracked. To bring peace, the realm was divided into Loud Land and the City of Silence. Now, enough years have passed that many in Loud Land question whether the City of Silence even really exists.  

When the Great Gong goes missing and a tone-less student joins the class, the students are forced to face the City of Silence in search of the sacred instrument and a better understanding of their less-than-loud peer. Along the way, they reckon with a world in which sound and silence are balanced, not oppositional.

Strayer and Shaud started brainstorming for the play over the summer and came to think of the production as a “creative container,” Strayer said. “We talked a lot about how relevant contemporary events could exist in this container allegorically and how students who play instruments or sing would have an opportunity to explore their other crafts theatrically in this container as well.” Once the school year started, the collaborative creation of the play expanded to include the student actors.

“Early in the process, I had the students write their own characters, which is something I like to do a lot. It’s a special moment for the students, because it gives them a creative stake in what’s happening,” Strayer said. Along the way, Strayer took more and more input from the students. “It is really worth it to me to say yes to other people’s ‘what ifs,’ and to model what happens when you say yes to other people’s ‘what ifs,’” she said. 

“They were just so ready to ask questions that really expanded the world that we had built in some pretty exponentially complicated ways. As a working artist and theater practitioner as well as a teacher, my gears were turning—I was so, so excited,” Strayer added.

Shaud, who is the director of the Middle School chamber ensemble and Upper School chamber orchestra, noted that writing music for the show—and collaborating with the students on it—was a fun change of pace from conducting music composed by others. “You put it in front of the kids, and every day it’s different,” he said. 

Shaud also commented on creating the overall sonic environment of the show, which made use of cast members’ various musical talents, but also incorporated the sounds of noisemakers, pots and pans, and whirly tubes. “Creating that environment was almost like being a kid again,” he said. “As a musician, I grew up doing that kind of stuff—making noise—and it was fun to bring it to the kids and have their input and see how it evolved.”

“There were a lot of moving parts, and we rode some challenging waves together,” said Strayer. “I’m really proud of what we ended up with, and I couldn’t have asked for more creative minds.”

Full Cast and Crew

CAST

ONYX QUICKSILVER: Parker McGinty ’32

OCTOBER: Sam Baker ’32

PERRY: Luca Pangaro ’31

SELBY: Alma Peña ’31

PAX: Myosi McCleary ’31

SIMON: Bea Ketcham ’30

ENABELLE: Charlotte Hardgrave ’30

PIPE: Linus Shaud ’31

CASSANDRA: Maggie Tompros ’30

ATHENA: Leighton Giangrasso ’30

PRODUCTION TEAM

Director: Ellie Strayer

Music Director: Dan Shaud

Costumes and props, instruments: Cathy Favreau

Set design: Derek Epstein

Light design: Chris Fournier

Light board operator: Elise Kravitz ’28

Producer: Julia Auster-Hogan