By Mina Ko ‘25, Arts and Entertainment Editor

Blue Stockings Poster Courtesy of Katherine Guo and the Arts Department

It is the first day of school at Girton College in the fall of 1896. Dozens of men hurry from the train station to the university engrossed in conversation. Murmurs of excitement envelop the stage. Four women, suitcases in hand, look out at the captivated audience. Suddenly, the stage goes dark. 

This is the opening act of “Blue Stockings” by Jessica Swale — Newark Academy’s 2023 fall play. The play, which takes place during the women’s suffrage movement, follows four girls at Girton University battling for their education and the right to graduate. The play focuses on the principles of education, freedom and equity. 

Ms. Shapiro-Cooper, director of Newark Academy’s theater arts program, has been aware of the play for a few years but decided to showcase it this year in honor of Newark Academy’s 250th anniversary. She particularly resonated with the play’s historical significance, as it is set at the first coeducational college in Britain. Shapiro-Cooper stressed the importance of putting on such a production within our school community, considering Newark Academy didn’t fully return to coeducation until 1972. Even students who do not take acting as a part of their curriculum can participate in the fall play and winter musical. The four ‘Girton girls’ were played by Cyann Leverett ‘25 as Tess Moffat, Elimena Wallace ‘25 as Celia Willabond, Bianca Araujo ‘25 as Carolyn Addison, and Peyton Fisher ‘27 as Maeve Sullivan. Leverett, the lead of “Blue Stockings,” believes that NA’s acting program allows individuals to “learn a lot about different people’s experiences” because “you have to put yourself in other people’s shoes.” Leverett also noted that within the acting community at NA, you “interact with so many different people and come together to share a common goal of telling a story.” 

There were many incredible parts of the play, but one of the most impactful and moving moments was when Mrs Elizabeth Welsch, played by Alexa Fastov, stated that “the only thing a woman can own is knowledge, and for the first time we have the opportunity to acquire it.” In addition, when Tess Moffat gave her monologue in which she battled between choosing her education or her love for Ralph Mayhew, played by Giacamo Messina, the audience couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for Tess and the position that she was put in.

Most enjoyed the story being enacted on stage, but if you decided to turn around you may have been able to catch a glimpse of Technical Theater Director Mr. Viola waiting attentively for his cue in the Coraci control room. While the actors brought this story to life, those such as Mr. Viola, Ms. Shapiro-Cooper, student volunteers and Assistant Technical Director Courtney Labossiere were the ones who made telling the story possible. They volunteered after school for hours at a time to put the pieces of the theatrical puzzle together. Viola said that “the set design process has been very exciting, challenging, and rewarding.” The ironic part of stage work is to make it seem like you haven’t done anything at all, as “the goal is to create a world that seamlessly forms before [the audience’s] eyes without showing the nuts and bolts of how it happened.”

For “Blue Stockings” specifically, there were “a lot of variables to consider for the design: the style, the time period, the historical accuracy” and so much more. Viola emphasizes that no experience is ever necessary, as it’s his belief that “in a matter of an hour spent working on any technical aspect, anyone can walk away with a skill you did not have prior.”

Viola acknowledges that many things can and do go wrong in live theater, but “it’s in those choices and moments that we learn most and improve our skills.”

“Blue Stockings” opened on Thursday, November 2nd, and ran until Saturday, November 4th. It was free and open to the public, as always. Thank you to everyone who came and supported our incredible actors!