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In celebration of the land, the school and its founders, the Besant Hill Community come together in April 2011 to perform their own adaptation of Aristophanes' comedy, CLOUDS.  With the arts programs combining talents, the show was a wide-open spectacle of music, dance, singing, acting, even aerial dance and flying actors!  Over half of the student body was involved in the event.  Add to that a dozen faculty performers, and the production was a rousing display of creative collaboration amongst students and faculty.

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CLOUDS

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The play was presented in the round, with the audience literally listening in through the walls of this tiny apartment inhabited by Rose, a delicate waif that catches the eye of Cliff, a hardened truck driver just looking to pass the time in South Philly.

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THE WOOLGATHERER

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After starring in three plays at BHS, Alex Neher ('10) (currently at Emerson College) produced an evening of theatre called MANIFESTATIONS, showcasing the talent of the Besant Hill students, alumni, and faculty (including Head of School, Paul Amadio) as his final tribute to the Besant Hill Theatre Department. MANIFESTATIONS included a variety of scenes from plays such, as Speed-the-Plow by David Mamet and Loyalties by Murphy Guyer, all produced and directed by Alex Neher and Scott Campbell. Alex said "Over the past two years the Theatre Department at Besant Hill has become my second family. I couldn't leave without one last goodbye."

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MANIFESTATIONS

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It was spring in the Ojai Valley, and the lunatics were running the asylum. Or, at least, the seniors were running the show as the Besant Hill School Drama department delivered the comedy classic, CHARLEY'S AUNT, by Brandon Thomas, in the Zalk Theater on April 15, 16, 17, 22 and 23rd. Madeline Mikkelson ('10) (Costume Design), Alex Neher ('10) (Lighting Design) and Alex Key ('10) (PR) joined forces with director
Richard Kuhlman (Theater 150, Second City, and roles on Seinfeld, ER, Ron Howard's Parenthood, and Family Guy), and producers Sandi Mikkelson and Scott Campbell. The group delivered an evening of outrageous comedy, thrust upon the back of the oldest sight gag there is: "Nothing says comedy like a man in a dress." As director Kuhlman put it, "We are dealing with an incredibly overused sight gag here...a man dressing as a woman. And it never fails to work. Especially with our cast..."

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CHARLEY'S AUNT

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In a production dominated by students in technical positions and stage roles alike, Besant Hill School of Happy Valley offered a dynamic performance of Tennessee Williams' THE GLASS MENAGERIE. In addition to the behind the scenes and onstage positions being filled by BHS students, the school was also fortunate enough to welcome guest artist Betsy Randle to the stage in the role of Amanda.

"I am loving the life that is happening on stage with Alex, Brett and Dan," said Randle. "We are so lucky to play in Tennessee William's world, and Scott understands that we must explore it honestly. I am learning so much, and this is a great opportunity for these young actors to sink their teeth into such amazing writing."

Best known for her work on the popular TV series Boy Meets World and Home Improvement, Randle currently lives in Ojai. Joining Randle onstage were BHS students Alex Neher ('10) as "Tom," Brett Baxter ('12) as "Laura," and Dan Grossback ('10) as "Jim." Behind the scenes, Neher was in charge of lighting, while fellow BHS students Madeline Mikkelson ('10) and Victoria Pollock ('10) designed the costumes and handled the film directing, respectively. Producer Sandi Mikkelson was joined by BHS student Alex Key ('10) as Associate Producer. The show was directed by BHS Director of Theater Scott Campbell.

"It's a wonderful piece for our designers to tackle, both student and pro," said Campbell. "Tennessee Williams was way ahead of his time, and was very creative in the way he wanted this story told. He asks for lights and sound and song, live solitary music and expressionistic touches to the set. So we've agreed to give him those things."

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THE GLASS MENAGERIE

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Caroline Thompson, preeminent screenwriter with such hits as Edward Scissorhands, Corpse Bride, and Nightmare Before Christmas, collaborated with a group of Besant Hill students in adapting Edmond Rostand's play, CHANTECLER, for the spring theatrical production in the school's very own Zalk Theater. Ms. Thompson adapted this rarely done work from the author of Cyrano de Bergerac, taking this tale of a rooster and setting it in a modern day chicken factory, where a story of love, pride and purpose play out against the backdrop of the hardship. The production also featured music, dance, masks, and aerial dance. Ms. Thompson was joined by partner Steve Nicolaides, producer of such hits as Stand by Me, Princess Bride, Boyz'n the Hood and many others, who served as producer for the project, working with a group of BHS students as well as developing the project.

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CHANTECLER

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PIPPIN

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BHS Drama Department winter production looked into one of the country's most shameful chapters, in a powerful one-act penned by one of America's preeminent playwrights.

In the fall of 1937, the blues world lost one of its most potent voices. Bessie Smith, the queen of blues, died in a tragic car accident just outside Memphis, Tennessee. Conflicting versions of what happened that night swirled about for many years following her death. In 1959, an up-and-coming playwright named Edward Albee chose that fateful night as the subject for his second play.

But of course, Albee doesn't just give us details of only Bessie's story. Instead, Albee digs deep into the core of the old, crumbling south through the tangled and steamy relationship of a young, ambitious medical intern and a nurse whose worn out lineage still lashes with authority.

Ojai blues legend April Hendrix channels Bessie's spirit through her own soulful sound, which echoes throughout this taut story of racism and romanticism. Mr. Albee once again proves his gift for scraping through the veneer of life, and exposing the complicated motives that drive human beings to behave in less than human ways.

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THE DEATH OF BESSIE SMITH

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SUMMER EVENING IN DES MOINES

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ANTIGONE

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