This spring, the Upper School musical, “Alice by Heart,” will reimagine the story of the classic nineteenth-century novel “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” but set during the London Blitz. The musical is directed by Mariko Watt, Performing Arts Faculty, Drama, alongside two returning assistant directors, Val Aberle ’27 and Grayson Monacelli ’26. They are ready to deliver their best work over the next couple of months, as they prepare the musical for opening night this spring. “As we get more into the show, they are going to be working on cleaning it and making it more connected to the characters,” said Watt. The two have both previously worked as assistant directors: Aberle on this past fall’s 11-12th-grade play, “And Then There Were None,” and Monacelli on last year’s 11-12th-grade play, “She Kills Monsters”. As they take on directing “Alice By Heart,” both Monacelli and Aberle are excited to showcase their skills in the theater department, which is not new to either of them.
For as long as Aberle can remember, she has been a part of the performing arts community in school and beyond. From what she can recall, a production of Disney’s “The Lion King” was the first time she was cast in a musical. “[In] preschool, [I was] probably crawling on the floor as a lion or an animal or something… I’ve always done [musicals]. It just felt freeing, and it was always a fun way to express myself,” said Aberle. She gained her first experience as a student director last year when she reached out to Sadie Schoenberger ’25, the assistant director for the Upper School musical “9 to 5,” and realized the position aligned with her interests and skills. Aberle, whose primary passion is dance, was eager to contribute more in that area after returning from a musical hiatus. “Last year, I was really looking to get back into it somehow, but I wanted to be more behind the scenes. Personally, I just don’t feel as comfortable singing and all that, although I love it… I wanted to get a taste of something new,” said Aberle.
Like her co-director, Monacelli became involved in theater at a very young age. “I think I was five or six, and I was part of an outside-of-school theater company for kids. I did a lot of shows with them until I was probably 11 and then started doing theater in middle school and high school,” said Monacelli. She began assistant directing last year and saw it as a way to balance her love of theater and her busy schedule. Whether she is on stage or behind the scenes, Monacelli is enthralled by all aspects of theater. “I think that the musical is really fun because you have a lot of different disciplines that come together to create a final product… Being a part of the production and the behind the scenes is really enjoyable, because you get to watch everything come together,” said Monacelli. As she works alongside the actors, she can draw on her own on-stage experience to help her direct. “As an actor, I think knowing how I like to be talked to by a director has really helped me. I know what’s helpful to hear, and I can output that into what’s helpful to say,” said Monacelli.
Watt, as the faculty director, has loved having more student leadership on board and praises both Monacelli and Aberle for their talents. As a dancer, Aberle can help with that aspect of the show. “I’m relying on her a little bit more to focus on the movement and the choreography and how that comes together, because that is not one of my strengths,” said Watt. For Monacelli, on the other hand, acting is truly her forte, and she can help with that part of the show. “She’s a very strong actor, and she really thinks about the characters and tries to go deeper into how the characters interact with each other,” said Watt.
As student directing has increased, Watt finds it inspiring and tries her best to make it work so that everyone can participate. “We’re really trying to take their specific strengths and then apply it …I feel like my job as a director is to make sure that the whole show is a big picture put together, and then trying to use [student directors] to find and finesse the little things inside that maybe would get lost in the big picture if they weren’t able to do it,” said Watt.
As they start to work on the musical, Aberle and Monacelli are excited to collaborate with Watt once again on a Poly show. The next few months will highlight both Monacelli’s acting and coaching and Aberle’s skills in dance and choreography. “I really like the musical because they’re both really good at their respective things…and being able to use them is helpful,” said Watt. With their combined talents and experience, the Spring Musical promises to be a showcase of their collaboration with the cast, and many are looking forward to seeing it.
