Performances Outside the Build Room

By Aranza Stanton

The Bishop Foley Catholic High School production of the musical “Anything Goes” has a lot of stowaways this year from the Foley Freeze robotics team.
The 21 students from the robotics team are involved in everything from lead roles to the tech crew for the performance, which follows the adventures of Billy Crocker (played by design subteam leader Aidan Darmetko) as he stows away on the ocean liner the S.S. American to win the heart of Hope Harcout.

The musical will be performed on March 6th and 7th from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm at Lamphere Highschool. Come either day to support Bishop Foley Catholic Highschool, the Performing Arts Department, and the Foley Freeze!

At first glance, acting and robots might seem to be an odd combo, but skills picked up during a student’s time on the Foley Freeze are beneficial in not just the fields of S.T.E.M. but also in the world of performing arts.

These skills apply to the technical aspects of theatre but also to memorizing, organization, and managing time efficiently.  So many students from robotics are in the play that the team usually has to pause their activities during the last week of rehearsal.

“Throughout my time in robotics, one thing that I’ve learned that has helped me with assisting the direction of play is planning ahead. Planning ahead is an integral piece of making sure everything is finished on time,” said assistant director Matthew Seamon, who is a member of the media subteam. 

The student Tech Crew is entirely comprised of students from the Foley Freeze. “Working on the production in the Tech Crew, I applied the technical and problem solving skills learned from robotics that help me work with the stage lights more effectively,” said Joseph Wampuszyc, who was part of the tech crew, and also the fabrication subteam.

“Going from tech crew to auditioning for a role in the musical, it demanded more time from me,” said Emma Green, who plays Seraphina, one of Reno’s Angels and is a member of the design subteam. “Being on the robotics team helped me with managing my time and improved my skills with public speaking, those of which I could apply on stage.”

The team of students on the Foley Freeze are incredibly talented and diverse in their interests. The familiar faces involved in both robotics and the musical pictured left to right: Joseph Wampuszyc (Tech Crew), Anthony Lucido (Minister), Jacob Rowinski (Stage Crew), Aidan Darmetko (Billy Crocker), Nick Lucido (Steward), Mr. Kevin Swift (Tech Crew), Kevin Kendro (Stage Crew), Sam Lucido (Sailor), Matthew Seamon (Assistant Director and Stage Crew), Kathrine Styf (Ensemble), (Brandon Perdew (Stage Crew), Emma Green (Angel), Claire Kaptur (Hair and Makeup), Sabrina Causley (Stage Crew), Laura Hull (Ensemble), Meghan Valade (Titipubian), Aranza Stanton (Hair and Makeup), Ariana Kerkmaz (Tech Crew), Skyler Siecinski (Ensemble and Tech Crew). Not Pictured: Adam Dixon (Stage Crew), Dominic Childs (Orchestra), Kathryn Podolan (Hair and Makeup),