The past three Del Val High School musicals have been delightful, but a variety of circumstances have cut into the box-office receipts and put the Drama Department account in the red.
So, an appeal is underway in an effort to raise money. Drama Department’s business manager Carolyn Wolsiefer said, “Five thousand dollars would restore our financial health, so that’s our goal.”
Although the school pays the staff members that are involved in the productions, the Drama Department pays for the costumes and props, printing the posters, and paying fees for the show and sheet music. And when Peter Pan and his associates fly around the stage, it is costly rented equipment and not fairy dust that makes that possible.
“Three productions in a row have lost money,” explained Ms. Wolsiefer. “The pandemic lockdown cut out half the performances of ‘Catch Me If You Can,’ and in 2021 the revenue from the live-stream showings of ‘Working’ didn’t match expenses, even though a show was chosen that wouldn’t incur a lot of expense. And this year we lost a performance of ‘Peter Pan’ because of bad weather.”
The price of a ticket has been held at $12, to keep the musicals affordable.
A “donate” button has been installed on the school’s web page, and it will remain there through June. The link is https://www.dvrhs.org/Domain/1207. For anyone wanting to send a check, make it out to: DVRHS, write “drama” in the memo field, and mail it to Del Val High School at 19 Senator Stout Road, Frenchtown 08825.
“Our musicals have been providing wonderful experiences for our students and audiences for decades,” said Ms. Wolsiefer, “and we hope the community will continue to support our efforts.”
