INSIGHT: We’re All In This Together

By Ginger Ellingson, Director of Fine & Performing Arts

On Thursday evening, May 11, the lights will come up on the stage of Eastside Prep as East High School, home of the Wildcats. The similarities between Eastside Prep and East High end where they start—East.  When Gabriella arrives as a new student at East High, it is indeed the Start of Something New. She is a member of the Brainiacs team, and just the thought of her possible audition for the musical upsets the stratified social structure of the student body. Gabriella’s counterpart and love interest Troy is the basketball captain, who struggles to share his newfound interest in singing with his teammates and father Coach Bolton. Sharpay, the president of the thespians, is intent on preserving her starring role in the school culture and preventing the audition. Will Troy and Gabriella be able to Find What They’ve Been Looking For, remember We’re All In this Together, and Break Free from the Status Quo?

Thankfully, EPS students are involved in a diversity of activities and embraced in a diversity of identities. The cast and crew of 5^th through 12^th graders are artists, athletes, programmers, debaters, leaders, and learners. The core questions around identity that High School Musical explores are ever-present in the daily life of our school; Who am I? What is my role in this group? How does this group relate to that group? Knowing and Being Known, the EPS theme for the year, allows for open exploration of these questions and creates a sense of belonging. This week is Tech Week, when lights, sound, microphones, and costumes are incorporated as the cast, crew, and Directors eagerly prepare for the final production of the school year. This year has been a special one for EPS, and in celebration of the 20^th anniversary of the founding of the school, the Fine & Performing Arts theatre program invites you to join us for High School Musical, our closing show of this year of stories set in schools.