Showcase: More Than Just a Show
It was early in February last winter when marketing and communications director Tim Butler told me the news that Showcase, our annual all-school show, was sold out, that every single seat in the 984-seat theatre was spoken for, and that this would be the largest audience for any event in The Academy’s history.
Every school understands certain events as milestones in its history, and we knew then that we had achieved a new level of success by both filling to capacity a theater that holds more than seven times as many people as The Academy has students, and by preparing a program that would undoubtedly have a profound impact on our guests.
Justin Tranter and students at Showcase 2016
Showcase has long been the source of defining moments for our community. Bryce Lunsky’s brilliant monologue from Mamet’s Edmond at the Goodman Theatre brought the crowd to absolute silence in one of the most moving performances we’ve ever seen. Justin Tranter, accompanied by Music senior Korgan Robb, brought the audience at the Harris Theatre to its feet with a rare live performance as the entire student body streamed onto stage behind him. And, in a moment I will never forget, the cast of columbinus — barely 24 hours after the massacre in Parkland, Florida — began to tell the story of a different group of teenagers who will forever symbolize the beginning of one of our country’s most troubling legacies.
columbinus at Showcase 2018
Showcase is one of The Academy’s most powerful traditions. Highlighting a collection of top work from across all six of our arts departments always results in a breathtaking display of virtuosity, imagination, community, and joy. Showcase is more than just a show: it’s a statement of excellence, and a celebration of the power of the arts — especially in difficult times — to inspire, unify, comfort, broaden perspective, heal, give voice, mobilize, and bring joy.
And, since 2017, Showcase has been an opportunity for us to celebrate the teachers in our community who transform the lives of young people every single day. This year, I am thrilled to announce that The Academy’s fourth-annual Faculty Legacy Award will be presented to Visual Arts Chair Margy Stover. A master artist and teacher, Stover has — among numerous other accolades — received the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program Grant and a Fulbright-Hays Seminar Abroad in China.
Showcase is on Saturday, February 8, and tickets are on sale now. Please be sure to join us for what will surely be an unforgettable evening.