S.T.A.G.E. Presents ‘Rumors’ This Weekend

By Alicia Pollard, staff reporter

Photo by Hannah Driscoll, staff photographer.                                                                                                                     The S.T.A.G.E. actors from the Neil Simon comedy "Rumors." From left to right

“Rumors,” the winter play with performances this weekend by students at Sturgis Charter Public School, will feature a number of technical improvements for the school’s theater program, which is known as S.T.A.G.E. (Sturgis Theater Arts Guild of Entertainers).

In “Rumors,” a comedy by Neil Simon, the action revolves around a gunshot in the home of a couple who is having their 10th wedding anniversary party. The first guests to arrive find their hostess missing and their host with a gunshot wound in his ear. The comedy mainly involves the awkward situation of the first guests trying to keep the rest of the party from finding out about the mystery, discovering what really happened, and keeping the situation from becoming a police investigation.

“Neil Simon writes really great comedies with really eccentric characters…it’s a good opportunity for the Sturgis actors to be creative in their characterization,” said Anna Botsford, the director for STAGE, who is a theater teacher at both Sturgis East and West campuses.

Theatre Teacher Directs Final Play for East

By Sara Prygocki, staff reporter

Appropriately Mrs. Anna Botsford dressed as a Super Theatre Teacher during Tuesday's Superhero and Super villain theme day

Photo by Hannah Driscoll, staff photographer

 As most of the school knows, our hard-working theatre and English teacher Mrs. Anna Botsford is dividing her time between Sturgis West and Sturgis East. Following this year she will be working permanently at Sturgis West.

One of her many jobs is being the theatre director for Sturgis Theatre Arts Guild of Entertainers (STAGE), which puts on the school plays outside of the academic theater classes. This job will be passed on to the new English and Theatre teacher Mrs. Rachel Ollagnon following the fall play.

Botsford plans to make her last play here a good one with the popular comedy “Rumors,” authored by Neil Simon. It takes place in New York City: Four couples get caught in the middle of a gunshot mystery, and hilarity ensues. The play opens in December.