ART, Cambridge High School Join Forces to Produce Play

Leaving the Loeb to the Harvard/Radcliffe Dramatic Club production of The Threepenny Opera, the American Repertory Theatre (ART) last week used the Fitzgerald Theatre at the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School (CRLS) for final technical rehearsals of Moliere's "Sanarelle."

In exchange for use of the theatre, the ART's technical crew instructed the school's student crew on lighting, sound and set management for the production.

Robert S. Jenkins, a junior on the high school crew, said yesterday, "We gained a lot in professional approaches, and it was fun!"

Jenkins' teacher, Judith J. Contrucci, explained, "The ART's show was much more complex than those we have put up. It was fascinating for the students to watch and help a large technical crew work together and put up a large set in a few hours."

"I would love to offer it as an annual feature," Contrucci, who is drama coordinator at the high school, added.

The arrangement appears to have suited the ART just as well.

"The Fitzgerald is a nice theatre to work in, and the kids are well-trained in the basics of stagecraft and construction," Tom C. Behren, technical director of the ART, said.

The company, which recently left for a month-long tour during which it will perform the Moliere farces, was in residence at the high school from the 19th to the 22nd of October.

At the end of its stay the ART staged two free performances for school students and members of the community with the help of the CRLS technical crew.

Members of the company will offer a series of technical and acting workshops for more than 100 students in December.